


Going to Graceland

by Noturbaby



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Romance, episode based
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-11
Updated: 2011-02-16
Packaged: 2017-10-15 14:11:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 49,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/161601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noturbaby/pseuds/Noturbaby
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a continuation of my story Reasons to Visit Cleveland. You don't have to read that to understand this. All you need to know is that Faith and Buffy met Sam and Dean and hooked up and want to again. This story is based on Season 3 of Supernatural and is post series for Buffy. It's a retelling of the story of Dean's crossroads deal and the beginning of season 4. There is a small reference to something Dawn 'did' in the Buffy comics. (I also throw in a mention of vampires from spn season 2 and pretend its season 3 ;))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

For the past few days, when Sam wasn't researching a case, he was researching slayers. Especially anything that had to do with Sunnydale, CA. "Dude, listen to this," Sam began. Dean rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. "At a high school graduation ceremony, the mayor, who was the commencement speaker, bombed the school."

"What?!" Dean looked in shock at Sam. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, I guess even 'regular' people were crazy in Sunnydale."

"Holy Crap. I wonder if Buffy was there or knew about it."

"I think it could have been her class. Uh, '99?" Sam scrolled through the web page. "Yeah, '99. Think that was her?"

Dean shrugged, "Maybe. I d'know."

Sam looked at him for a minute. "Have you called her?" Dean glared at him. Sam shrunk back slightly, "I just think you should call her. I mean, you liked her, right?"

Dean shook his head, "Playing matchmaker, Sammy?"

Sam shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "No."

"I can get my own girls, Sammy."

"It's Sam, and I know that. I just thought," Sam sighed, and stopped himself, knowing it was useless to try to get Dean to do anything if he was pushed.

"Thought, what, Sam?"

"Nothing," Sam said rather forcibly, "just if I'm going to see Faith again, I thought you might want to see Buffy, that's all."

"Well, maybe you can have Faith pass her a note in study hall." Dean shook his head and turned up the radio ending the conversation.

**************************************************

"Hello?" Buffy grabbed her cell with one hand, her keys with the other and hurriedly stepped into her heels before rushing out the door.

"Buffy?"

"Yeah, this is Buffy," Buffy wrinkled her nose. The voice wasn't registering, yet.

"Hey, it's Dean. How's it going?"

Buffy froze. "Dean?" she nearly squeaked, clearing her throat immediately. She felt herself blush.

"Yeah. Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No, not a bad time," Buffy's reply was a bit fuzzy. She looked around, why was she outside again? "I'm, uh, just heading out. Are you back in town?"

"No, actually, we're just outside Greenville, South Carolina."

Buffy was confused, why was he calling. Not that she minded, it was just unexpected. "Oh, okay."

"Sam called Faith and told her we wouldn't be back this week, so I figured I'd call you." Dean scratched his head. He hadn't planned on calling Buffy unless they were actually in Cleveland. Unfortunately for him, Sam had become somewhat infatuated with Faith and hadn't let a day pass without a call or text at the very least.

Having regained her composure, Buffy got in her car. "Okay, so not coming back. Check. Uh, anything else?"

Dean blinked, "No, not really. I guess. I was just…"

"Okay, then. Um, well, I guess I'll talk to you later," Buffy hung up quickly and slumped against the wheel of her car. God, I'm pathetic, she thought. I can't even handle talking on the phone to hot guy. She sighed.

Dean looked at his phone for a minute. That went well, he thought sarcastically as he tossed the phone onto the bed next to him.

 

*********************************************************  
Andrew typed a couple more keys, "There, as you can see, the entire database can now be.." He looked at his audience. No one was listening to him. Faith was texting, Buffy was doodling, Xander might have been sleeping, even Willow seemed to be using her laptop for something not remotely related to his topic. "I'm done," he said loudly enough to register with them.

Buffy stood and smoothed her skirt, "Good, thanks, Andrew. That was -- helpful." She smiled at him.

Andrew rolled his eyes, "Yeah, don't worry I'll explain it again when someone needs it."

"Thank god," Xander sighed. "You lost me in the first five minutes."

Faith snort a laugh. The room's attention turned to her. Feeling eyes on her, she looked up. "What?" she shrugged, smiling with slight color rising in her cheeks.

Xander's eyebrow raised, "Why Miss Lehane, I do believe you're blushing."

Faith's face became instantly serious. "I am not." She glanced at Buffy before returning a glare at Xander. "Xander do you mind? We've got girl stuff to talk about." With a roll of the eye, Xander left the girls alone.

"So?" Willow asked with excitement, "who have you been texting this whole time?"

Faith looked at Buffy before she answered. "Well, last week we met these guys and, well, we've sorta been keeping in touch."

"You have?" Buffy was stunned.

Faith shrugged. "I know. I'm not usually the let's keep in touch girl, but Sam's different."

"Different, how?" Willow was intrigued, the Faith she knew was a 'get some and get gone' girl.

Buffy cleared her throat. "What did he say?"

Faith smirked at Buffy. It was obvious Buffy was asking about Dean without trying to ask about Dean. "He said that our boys were not coming back up here this week. But, that wasn't the good stuff."

"Wait, wait, what's this about? You both met guys?" Willow turned to Buffy. "I thought you were dating that Ken guy."

Buffy shrugged and looked back at Faith.

"Ken was a loser. This Dean guy, Willow you should see him. Might make you play for the other team," Faith grinned.

"Faith!" Buffy scolded.

Willow was confused, "I thought you said his name was Sam."

"Yeah, Sam is mine. He's tall and Hot with a capital H. And, his brother, Dean, well let's just say he made Buffy feel all kinds of happy."

Willow looked at her friend and noticed the blush creeping up her cheeks. "Buffy! You slept with some random guy?"

"He wasn't random…He's a hunter and.." Buffy couldn't think of an excuse to make her not feel like a slut.

Willow started grinning at Buffy's discomfort. "So it was good, huh?"

Seeing that Willow had just been teasing her and not judging her, made Buffy's smile return. "Oh, yeah, way good. Beyond good. Bordering on life changing." Faith's and Willow's brows shot up. "But, we haven't really talked since, so I doubt I'm even on his radar screen."

"I thought he called," Faith shifted in her seat studying Buffy.

Buffy made a face, obviously Sam and Dean had talked and Sam told Faith about it. She sighed. "Yeah, he called this morning to say he wasn't going to be coming into town this week. But I got the feeling he called because he knew you'd know, or something. Let's drop it, okay? I mean, I'm totally happy about you and Sam, Faith, don't get me wrong. I just don't think me and Dean are on the same page."

Faith smirked, "Maybe you need a lesson in sexting. That'll get his attention."

"Sexting?" Buffy and Willow said in unison.

"Yeah, here, let me show you." Faith scrolled through some messages on her phone, then sat back and enjoyed the looks on her friends' faces.

"Oh my god, Faith, I, uh, I could never say stuff like that." Buffy felt herself become flushed.

"Trust me, B, Dean would love it."

Buffy knew Faith was right, but sexting? She didn't think she could do it.

Xander returned to the room. "Girls, I hate to break up your little gossip session, but we've got a job to do. Faith? You ready to take down a nest with the new group of girls?"

Faith stood and cracked her neck. "Gimme a sec to change into something more slice and dice worthy, and I'm with ya."

Xander nodded, "Good, I'll meet you out back."

 

When Faith and Xander left, Willow cornered Buffy. "Tell me everything about this Dean guy. Where'd you meet? What's he like? How'd you end up taking him home?" Her questions bubbled from her.

Buffy sighed, "We met when they found the chalice the Yaunti was going to use. They helped me with a zombie problem. Then, uh, after Xander destroyed the chalice with them, we all went out to dinner. That's it, really."

Willow looked doubtful. "If that's it, then why are you acting all flustered."

Buffy squirmed. "Will, it's.." she paused, not sure how to explain her feelings. "Dean's … I don't know."

Willow studied her friend. "You like him," she teased in a sing song voice.

Buffy looked at her and gave in.

Willow's grin covered her face. "Oh my god, you really like him."

"Willow," Buffy whined. "He's hard not to like. He knows what I do, ya know, we're in the same 'business'. He's nice. He's funny. He's absolutely gorgeous. The way he kisses makes me melt." Buffy buried her face in her hands.

Willow's smile faded seeing her friend's distress. "If he's so great, why are you not happy?"

Buffy took a second to think. "He was a one night stand. I doubt he's looking for anything beyond that. I mean I'm sure the only reason Dean called is that for some reason Faith is hanging onto Sam. Otherwise, he wouldn't be calling."

Willow was surprised by her friend's admission. "You're not Miss One-night-stand, what happened?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, "He did this thing when we danced that made me go all," she shuddered and Willow laughed. "Yeah, well that, on top of the way he kissed, pretty much sealed the deal."

"Well, if he called, maybe he does want more than one night," Willow reassured.

Buffy shook her head, "Maybe he wants one more night, but he's not relationship guy. I mean he's on the road constantly."

Willow smiled, "Well if the one night was so wonderful, why not have one more night?" Buffy looked at her with wide shocked eyes. "There's nothing wrong with having some fun, Buffy. Lord knows you deserve some."

Buffy mulled that suggestion over, "So you think I should sext him?"

Willow raised a brow at her, "Maybe you should start with a phone call."

"Right, sexting is not really my style." Buffy admitted.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is Dean. Leave your name and number and I'll get back to you."

"Hey, hi, Dean, it's Buffy," She paused wondering what she should say. "Uh, I hope the fact that you didn't answer means that you're in the shower or something and not in any kind of danger. Um, well give me a call, if you want, if you have time, at least let me know that you weren't in some kind of trouble. Uh, okay, thanks, bye." Buffy shook her head, why did she ramble like an idiot when she liked a guy?

Dean smiled to himself while he listened to the message. He had to wait for Sam to find something to do before he called back, but he would definitely call back.

He groaned when he got her voicemail, but his grin returned as he decided to leave a message. "Buffy, it's Dean returning your call. Uh, we're weren't in any trouble, I wasn't in the shower, just in the middle of no reception land. But, hey, if you want, you can think about me in the shower -- naked. And since you didn't answer, I'll guess that's where you are. In the shower. Naked." He paused, "Okay then, talk to ya later."

Buffy closed her eyes in embarrassment as she listened to his message. She hadn't meant that she was thinking about him naked. Of course, now, she couldn't help it. He had gone and put that idea in her head. There was no way she was going to be able to concentrate for the rest of the evening. There was also no way she was calling him back.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buffy answered on the first ring, "Dawn, the answer is still 'no'. You are not going to Cancun. Maybe, if just once, you acted responsibly when you vacationed unsupervised, I'd consider it. But having sex with a thricewise kinda screams irresponsible. And, again, I ask, just who is supposed to pay for this little excursion of yours?"

The line was quiet in response for a moment. Then the silence was broken by a deep chuckle. "Who is this!?" Buffy demanded.

"It's Dean."

"Oh. Uh, sorry," Buffy laughed, nervously, "I thought you were someone else."

"Yeah, so I gathered. Who's Dawn?"

"My kid sister. She's been calling all night trying to get me to let her go on spring break. It's been a total thing."

"Well, if she's anything like you, you should let her go somewhere. I wouldn't want a mini slayer angry with me."

Buffy smiled, "She's not a slayer. She's becoming a witch, though." Remembering Dean's aversion to witches she quickly added, "Not a bad witch. She's closely watched. She's very careful with the spells."

Dean laughed a little, "Right, 'closely watched', that's how she had sex with a thricewise."

"Well, she did that for attention," Buffy admitted.

"Bet it worked," he snorted.

"Yeah, but she got the same amount of attention when she borrowed my Jimmy Choo's without asking." Buffy plopped herself down in her big comfy living room chair.

"Jimmy who's?"

"Choo's -- they're shoes. Really awesome shoes, that she destroyed, and didn't replace," Buffy thought she could hear Dean roll his eyes. "Anyway, you know what little siblings are like, though. Didn't Sam ever do anything irresponsible?"

"Sam's had his moments. He once let this slayer drink him under the table and then let her take him home," Dean teased. "However, I couldn't tell you about him and spring break. I didn't hang out with him much when he was in college. And," Dean took a breath, "a reckless spring break is probably more my style than Sammy's."

Buffy's call waiting beeped in. "I'm gonna ignore that call. How have you been? Where are you guys?"

"We're in Montana. That's kinda why I called. Did you ever hear of vampires that only hunt animals, not humans?"

"Yeah. It's rare, but yeah. So I take it you ran across a nest of 'vegetarians'?" Buffy asked.

"Vegetarians? Uh, I guess you could call them that," Dean chuckled at her label. "I just don't know if it's the truth, ya know. I mean how do you trust a vampire?"

Buffy laughed to herself, not going to touch that one, she thought. "Yeah, uh, I could see how that could be an issue. Are you willing to test them?"

"What's the test?"

Buffy took a deep breath, hoping the Winchesters would take the necessary precautions. "First, promise me you'll be careful."

The concern in her voice surprised him, making him pause. "Of course," Dean promised.

"Okay, during the day, grab a vamp, restrain it, and drag it from the nest. Then," Buffy paused again, suddenly feeling dread.

"Then?" Dean coaxed.

"Then, bleed," Buffy continued.

"Bleed? That's it?"

Buffy sighed not thinking that Dean was taking this seriously. "Dean, if it's a vampire that feeds solely on human blood, your blood will send it into a frenzy. Be sure you and Sam have it restrained and are ready to kill it immediately. If it's a vegetarian," she went on, "it will be able to resist human blood, at first, if it's fed recently."

"Got it, thanks," Dean's reply was short.

"Dean, wait. This is very dangerous. Maybe you should wait. We might be able to send someone…"

"Babe, been fightin' the bad guys for years. We've faced vampires before, we got it," Dean affirmed. "This might be the first time we met 'vegetarians', but not our first rodeo, we're good."

"Right, I know," Buffy replied trying to sound relaxed.

"Thanks, for, uh," Dean had been about to thank her for her concern, but she interrupted.

"Oh, sure, you know. Professional courtesy and all," Buffy nodded, she didn't want him to think she thought of him as more than that. At least not until she knew how he felt. However, she was not feeling a any better about knowing that Dean and Sam were about to face a vampire.

"Right," he sighed. Dean was having trouble reading this girl. She changed from hot to cold so often she could be her own weather system.

"Dean, really, be careful. I know you've been hunting for years, but vampires are unbelievably strong."

Dean smirked. "I know, like I said, I've dealt with them before." He paused, he didn't want to come across as annoyed. "You want me to call you when I come home?" he teased.

Buffy felt like he was mocking her. "Hey, kid me all you want, but don't come crying to me if the vamp bites your face off."

Dean chuckled, "Don't worry, nothing is biting my face off."

"Good, 'cause that would be bad. I like your face just the way it is," Buffy smiled. "But if you want to call me when it's over, I would be okay with that."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Buffy paced, waiting for her phone to ring. When it did, it was Dawn. "Buffy, puhleease let me go to Cancun. I've got the money mostly saved up. I'm going with a whole group of girls here. You can send a slayer to watch over me if you want, but please let me go to Cancun."

"Fine, go."

"What?! Really?!"

"Dawn, go to Cancun. Have fun. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Buffy, what's going on? Why the sudden change? Is something wrong?"

Buffy's call waiting beeped in. "Dawn-I'll-call-you-back-later. Bye" As fast as she could, Buffy switch over to the incoming call. "Hello!?"

"Wow, another one ring pick up. Is little sister still bugging you about spring break?" Dean asked while trying to cover up a yawn.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, "You're okay."

"Yeah, we're fine," Dean chuckled a bit. "They passed your test, no faces bitten off. I woulda thought Faith had told you."

"Faith? No, she didn't tell me anything. Why?" Buffy wondered why it bothered her that Faith knew they were all right before she did.

"Uh, no reason. Just, I know Sam was texting her earlier," Dean replied.

Buffy hmphfed. "You mean sexting."

"What?" Dean was suddenly wide awake.

"That's what she does. She's been sending Sam what she calls sext messages," Buffy explained.

Dean laughed. "That's awesome."

Buffy suddenly felt very inadequate. Is that what Dean wanted her to do? She wondered.

"Oh, I can't wait to rib him about this," Dean laughed again. "No wonder he's been glued to his phone." Dean began to think of creative ways to interfere with Sam's messages. "Hey, I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, fine," Buffy replied, but Dean had already disconnected.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey, gorgeous, I got your text." Faith had just parked her jeep in a strip mall parking lot when Sam called. "I was glad to see you guys are all right."

"Yeah," Sam yawned his reply. "We're beat, but not beat up."

Faith shift grinned, "So, get some rest, and let me come help work out any of that tension ya got built up."

Sam groaned, "Yeah, I wish. Dean's found another job and we're heading there first thing."

Faith slumped down in her jeep's seat. "Come on, Sam. Don't you ever get a day off? I mean you gotta take time for yourself once in a while." She picked at the steering wheel absent mindedly.

Sam sighed. He could see her point, but Dean was driven to save as many people as he could while he could. Sam couldn't abandon him. Not now, not so near the end. "Faith, it's just, this one's really important. Dean found out kids are involved."

"You guys want help?" Faith asked eagerly. "I could totally help you guys kick some ass and then be around to help you get some r and r."

Sam scratched his head, "Yeah, sounds good. I'll talk to Dean about it and get back to you. 'Kay, babe?"

"Yeah, fine," Faith mumbled irritably.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over a week had gone by and Buffy hadn't heard from Dean. She began to avoid Faith, since she didn't want to know if Sam had been calling, or sexting. When she finally did hear from Dean, it was well past one in the morning.

"Hey," Buffy's voice was soft. She yawned and stretched . "I'm surprised to hear from you."

"I know, it's late. Sorry. I just wanted to hear your voice," Dean sighed heavily. "How's was your day? Did your sister call?"

"Dean, what's wrong?" Buffy had heard the weariness in his voice.

"Nothing, I was just gonna go," he swallowed. He knew she knew what he did, he knew she'd understand, but suddenly, he didn't want to burden her.

Even softer than before, she asked, "Dean, what happened?"

"It was a demon. It got kids. It got about a half dozen of them before Sam and I could get there. God, Buffy, it was awful."

"I'm sorry, Dean, god, I am so sorry."

Dean blew out a breath. "I know." They remained on the phone together silently for a moment. "Sorry. I shouldn't have called. I guess I called you instead of drinking enough to pass out."

Buffy smiled at that, "So I'm like your sponsor." She tried for kidding, hoping he'd take it that way. "Okay. What can I do?"

"Nothing, I shouldn'ta called so late. I'll talk to you --"

"No, Dean. It's fine. Really. I know what you're going through, remember?"

"Yeah."

"So tell me what I can do to help."

"Take my mind off it. Tell me some crazy story about you."

"Okay, sure, give me a sec." She paused and looked around her room for something to jog a memory. Seeing a picture of Xander and Dawn, she smiled. "This one time, Xander and my sister, accidentally, summoned a demon that made our entire town into a musical. Everyone broke into song and dance numbers."

"Seriously?"

Buffy laughed lightly, "Yeah, the whole town was like an old Hollywood musical."

"Sunnydale?"

"Yeah, Sunnydale. My old stomping grounds," Buffy said as she plopped down on her bed.

"Hey, Sammy was just telling me something about that place," Dean looked around as if he could find the memory somewhere in the car. "Oh yeah, something about the mayor bombing the high school. I guess living on the hell mouth made the politicians extra evil."

Buffy laughed, "Yeah, kinda. He turned himself into this super demon snake and my class had to put him down. It did destroy the school, though."

Dean leaned back, completely shocked at Buffy's admission. "He was a…Wait, your class put him down?"

"Yeah, it was a pretty crazy graduation."

"That's putting it mildly. So, did everyone know you were the slayer?"

"Not really, but they knew that I protected them. They gave me a trophy and everything."

"A trophy? that's just freakin' weird."

Buffy chuckled, "Yeah, well my high school life was far from normal."

"Normal's overrated," Dean said with bitterness.

"I hardly remember it," Buffy agreed. "But sometimes, sometimes I wish I had it."

"Careful what you wish for."

"Huh?"

"Me and Sam were hunting a djinn, but, uh, I ended up one of it's victims. It gave me this, dream I guess, where my life was normal, no demons or ghosts, but Sam and me didn't get along, and the people I had saved were dead. Normal kinda sucked," he sighed. "My mom was still alive, though."

Buffy felt horrible. It seemed like she had made him more depressed. "Sorry, Dean, I didn't mean to make you feel worse."

"You didn't," Dean was quick to reassure. "Sammy tried for normal, once. He went to Stanford for a few years. Was gonna be a lawyer."

They were both quiet for a minute.

Buffy sighed, "You ever hear of those fantasy camp things? Like for baseball? Or here in Cleveland, the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame does the rock star one?

"Yeah, sure, why?"

"Fantasy camp for us would be living a 'normal' life for a week. You know like a total nine to five thing."

Dean laughed. "Yeah. I can see that. I'd have to wear a suit and work in some office or something."

"And I'd be your secretary," Buffy added with a smile. The sound of Dean's laugh bringing her unexpected happiness.

"If you were my secretary, I'd chase you around my office all day."

Buffy laughed, "Oh, you would?"

"Damn straight I would. And since it's fantasy camp, you'd have to let me catch you."

Buffy giggled, "Oh really?"

"Yeah. And you'd be wearing your hair up and have glasses, but when I catch you, you take off the glasses and let down your hair…" Dean's voice trailed off.

"Hey, is this my fantasy camp or yours?"

"Yours, I catch you, remember?" Dean teased and Buffy laughed again. "I'd probably sweep everything off my desk and have my way with you then."

"Dean!" Buffy was blushing and giggling and making Dean feel much lighter than he had when he first called. "I thought this was my fantasy."

"It is. Are you trying to tell me you wouldn't want me to have my way with you?" he asked in mock indignation.

Buffy paused, "On the desk? Doesn't your office have a couch?"

Dean laughed, "Right, if I'm some corporate hot shot, I'd definitely have a couch in my office." He thought a moment, "tell you what, we'll work our way there after the desk."

"Sounds good."

They both sighed.

"Thanks, Buffy."

"For what? The office fantasy?"

"Yeah, that's gonna keep me warm on those cold nights," he teased. "But I meant thanks for answering when I called, taking my mind off everything for a while."

"No problem, the job sucks." She paused for a moment before adding quietly, "and I like hearing from you. I mean it." Buffy closed her eyes for a second, relieved that Dean was in a better mood. "Where are you? Or, I guess, where are you going to be?"

"I don't know, sweetheart, wherever the job takes me. But, I'll try to get back to Cleveland, soon."

"Well, don't make it too soon. I'm going out to L.A. on a small business trip. But I'll have my phone. You know, you can call me anytime."

"M'kay," Dean liked how that sounded. "Business trip? What's that about?" Dean leaned back with his head against the headrest of his seat.

"Just a friend needing a favor," Buffy replied remembering the 'don't talk about the ex' advice Xander had given her. "I'm glad you called. I'm going to have totally hot dreams about you now."

Dean chuckled again, "Well, glad to be of service. I think I'll go hit a cold shower."

"Are you trying to get me to think about you naked, again?" Buffy giggled as she teased him about his previous comment.

Dean laughed, "Absolutely."

With a laugh, Buffy said, "Good night, Dean."

"Night, Buffy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains smut.

Thursday afternoon, Buffy paced the Memphis airport. She watched the arrival departure board; this was not happening. She was delayed again! She rolled her neck and felt the tension building inside her. The trip had been tiring enough. She just wanted to go home and soak in her tub. She wanted a massage. She plopped herself down in a crummy airport seat and pouted. Sighing heavily, she looked up at the board, again. She was going to spend at least another three hours in the Memphis airport.

Buffy pulled out her phone, she may as well call Dawn and let her know she wouldn't be home as soon as she thought. Scrolling through her contacts, she landed on Dean, instead of Dawn, and she smiled, thinking talking to Dean would be a much more pleasant way to spend the time.

"This is Dean," he sounded irritated.

"Hey, it's Buffy," she said with a smile hoping his tone would change.

Upon hearing her voice, Dean smiled and shifted in his seat. "Hey, how's it going, sweetheart?"

"It's not. I'm stuck in Memphis," Buffy whined.

"There's worse places," Dean said smiling. "For how long?"

"For the next three hours."

"Hey, you should hit Interstate Bar-B-Que while you're there."

"What? You want me to go to a barbeque?"

"Have you ever been there? The food is awesome. Seriously, if you've got time, you should try it." Dean reached for the glove box and pulled out a map.

Buffy shook her head at his suggestion. "With my luck, I wouldn't get back from there in time to catch my flight."

A young family seated themselves next to her. Buffy normally wouldn't have minded, but as soon as they sat down, their infant started to wail. Buffy rolled her eyes and groaned internally. Not a crying baby on top of everything, that was too much. She got up and began to walk through the airport.

"So, you must have been to Memphis before if you know about this barbeque place," Buffy said as she strolled.

"Yeah," Dean admitted, "been through there a couple of times."

Buffy turned off her concourse and found herself in the midst of a throng of people. "I hate airports," she moaned.

"You and me both. I hate flying," Dean confessed.

"I don't mind the flying, but the crowds," Buffy stopped. "What was the name of that place?"

"Interstate Bar-B-Que. You goin'? I'm telling you it's--"

"It's here at the airport."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm looking at it right now," Buffy laughed.

"Well, right there is a reason to fly."

Buffy joined a long, but quickly moving, line of people at the stand. "Alright, Mr. Winchester, what should I get?"

"Pork sandwich. No question. My mouth is watering just thinking about it."

Buffy smirked, "I was hoping I'd make your mouth water."

"You do, sweetheart," Dean said with a grin spreading across his face.

Buffy would have blushed as she caught his double entendre, but the Public Address system made a scratchy announcement at the same time. Buffy spun around and looked at the board, again. "Dammit."

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing," Buffy sighed. "They just cancelled my flight." Buffy hung her head back. "Ugh! Now, I'm stuck in Memphis for god knows how long. Now, I gotta get a new flight, maybe a hotel and a car. Agh!" she yelled, causing many people in line to look at her oddly.

Dean took another quick look at his map. "Hey, it's not that bad." Buffy was about to protest when he went on. "I'm less than four hours away."

Buffy's mind froze. She slowly contemplated what Dean had said. "Less than four hours?" She hoped her voice didn't actually sound as squeaky as it did in her head.

"Yeah," Dean said as he schemed. "Why don't you see if you can get yourself a room at the Peabody? It's old school classy, you'll love it."

Buffy nodded. "The Peabody, okay," she spoke slowly. "Where's that?"

"Uh, crap, what's the name of that street?" Dean wracked his mind. "Ya know, it's like a landmark or something. Any cabbie's gonna know exactly what you're talking about." Dean fired up the Impala. "I gotta go. I'll see you soon," he disconnected, not wanting to give her the opportunity to say no.

Buffy stood in the food line, stunned. She was going to see Dean in less than four hours. She felt a flood of excitement . "What can I get you, honey?" the tiny woman behind the counter asked.

"A pork sandwich," Buffy answered as she pulled out her wallet. "Better make that two. To go."

 

"Hey, sexy, what's up?"

Sam smiled at Faith's greeting. "Where are you right now?" He asked as he walked through the parking lot, checking out cars he could 'borrow' if he needed one.

But, when Faith answered, "Chicago." Sam's face lit up.

"Well," he began, trying for nonchalance, "if you're not doing anything. I'm in Litchfield, and I was wondering if you wanted to---"

"I can be there in two hours," Faith interrupted him.

Sam's grin covered his face, "Great. I'm at the Overlook Motel, room 7. See you in two hours."

 

Buffy strolled through the Peabody's small boutique, she needed something to wear for her 'date'. She wanted something nice, but not too nice. She pulled a white dress from the rack, but when she held it up to herself, she thought it screamed, 'grandma'. Returning it to the rack, she tried a red strapless dress. The skirt was so short, Buffy thought the whole dress could have been an extra long tube top. Her phone rang just as she was about to give up. "H'lo?"

"Hey, B, where are you?"

Buffy smiled. "Hey, Faith, I'm stuck in Memphis. Why? Where are you?"

"What?! I thought you were in Litchfield, Illinois!" Faith complained.

"Litchwhat? Why would I go there?" Buffy held up a blue dress. Then panicked, "Wait, Faith, this isn't a case, is it? Tell me you don't need me for a case."

Faith chuckled a bit. "No, Buf. The Winchesters are in Litchfield and I thought --"

"No, Faith," Buffy began.

"Buffy, you need to have some Dean action and I can get that for you," Faith interrupted. "Now, how do we get you up to Litchfield?"

Buffy laughed, "Faith, I'm not going up to Litchfield."

"But Buf-"

"Faith! Listen. Dean is coming here," Buffy answered trying to sound calm.

Faith was silent for a moment. "B, you sly dog, good for you," Faith laughed. "I've got some hot sexts to go act out, so you two have fun, don't let him come home early, alright?"

Buffy looked at herself with the blue dress in the mirror, "I'll do what I can. Have fun, Faith."

 

Faith rolled into the Overlook's lot eagerly anticipating her reunion with Sam. She checked her look in the rearview mirror, then pulled her bag from the backseat. The door to room 7 opened before she could knock. A scowl replaced her smirk when the blond that opened the door appraised her in a huff. Behind the girl, stood Sam, staring at Faith with wide eyes. "Faith!" he gasped.

The blond quirked a brow, now intrigued by Faith, whose eyes were narrowed at her. "Hm, don't get your panties in a bunch, Faith." She strutted passed her. "This isn't what it looks like."

Faith's entire body tensed as she watched the other woman. "Faith, this is Ruby. She's, ah, uh, a friend." Faith tilted her head as she looked between them, clearly not buying Sam's story.

Ruby gave her a quick, fake smile and kept walking.

Faith shoved Sam inside the room and kicked shut the door. "What the hell, Sam? Most guys have the decency to schedule their booty calls so that we don't meet the other woman."

Sam stepped back and was stammering, "She's -- she's not. She's not a booty call." Seeing Faith's perturbed expression, Sam went on, "You're not a booty call, either, Faith."

Faith pushed Sam onto one the beds, both of which were made, she noticed, and leaned back on the dresser and crossed her arms. "Tell me what's goin' on. What was she doing here? Who is she?"

Sam gulped as he looked at her. His fear of slayers renewed by her fierce stare. "That was Ruby. She's trying to help me and Dean with a problem we have."

"Oh, you're gonna hafta do better than that, Sammy, if you expect me to stick around."

Sam sighed. He had promised Dean not to share his secret with anyone, especially Faith. But, he felt he had no other option. Sam raked his hand through his hair before taking a deep breath and meeting her eyes. "You ever hear of a deal made at a crossroads?"

Faith looked down. She had, and she knew they never ended with 'happily ever after'. She uncrossed her arms and raised her eyes to his. "Who made the deal?"

"Dean," before she could ask, he added, "to bring me back after I died."

It was Faith's turn to run a hand through her hair. She looked from him to the ceiling and back. "What were the terms?"

"I came back and Dean got a year. It's almost up,"

Faith mulled this over. "Does Buffy know?"

Sam shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Dean doesn't want anyone to know." He shifted back a bit on the bed. "I'm hoping he tells her while they're together in Memphis."

Faith nodded. "What's with this Ruby chick? How can she help?"

"She's helping us find the demon that holds Dean's contract."

Faith nodded, again. She pushed off the dresser to stand in front of him. She combed her fingers through his hair and straddled his lap. She studied his face for a moment and took in his sadness. "Maybe we can help, Sam." She kissed him gently. "Me, Buffy, the gang, maybe we can help."

Sam pulled back to check her eyes. "You think you can?" he asked full of doubt.

Faith simply nodded and kissed him again. "Sam, we have a lot of contacts. I'm sure we can do something." Hoping that she could at least ease his mind for a few hours. She pulled at his bottom lip with her teeth then leaned away. She pushed his chest to make him lay back. "Sam, just so you know, this, most definitely, is a booty call." She grinned and pulled her shirt over her head.

 

Buffy toyed with her straw as she sat in the hotel bar waiting for Dean. At first, she had been grateful that the distance he had to travel allowed her the time to get ready. Now, however, she was becoming anxious. The dress she bought at the boutique in the lobby, now felt like she had over done it. Like she was trying too hard. She took a deep breath and a long sip of her cocktail to calm herself.

"Hey, beautiful, can I buy you a drink?" a deep voice asked.

Buffy turned and smiled at the man that asked. "I have one, thanks."

That earned her a smirk as the man attempted to pull a chair out from her table. "Then, do you mind if I join you for one?"

Buffy kept her face expressionless as she replied. "Actually, I'm waiting for someone." The man shrugged and walked back to the bar.

Buffy looked around the lobby and checked her watch for the hundredth time. "So, what brings you to Memphis?"

Buffy turned to see a rather heavy set man leering at her. "I'm working on a Dateline NBC episode about men who cheat on their wives while they travel on business." Buffy said as she looked the man over.

"Hmpf," the man nodded and walked away.

Buffy sighed and picked at the drink special listing for a minute before being interrupted by a hand on the chair opposite her. She looked up to meet Dean's eyes. She was speechless for a moment before she breathed out, "Hi."

"Hi," he returned as his eyes traveled over her face.

"Please, sit." Buffy nodded to the chair.

Dean sat, his eyes, which held a small smile, hadn't left hers. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"It takes forever to get a drink around here, there's only one waitress."

"I'll go to the bar," he suggested and tilted his head in that direction.

"No, uh.." Buffy's eyes flitted to the bar

Dean followed her glance at the bar briefly, "Those guys bothering you?"

"No, they're fine. But, you just got here, stay. Have mine." Buffy slid her drink towards him.

Dean's mouth formed a slight smile as he sniffed her glass. He squinted at her, "Vodka tonic?" Buffy nodded and watched him take a sip with his eyes still on hers. "I like your hair," Dean said as he returned the tumbler to the table. Buffy blushed faintly, looked down, and self consciously put a hand to her hair that she wore up in a twist. "And that's a really nice dress," he added bringing a smile to Buffy's face.

Buffy's eyes returned to his. "You really wear that suit."

Dean looked down at his clothes as if he just realized he was still in his FBI disguise, only minus the tie. He lifted his gaze to hers again and held it there. His smile was gradual, but it made Buffy feel warm all over. He tilted his head toward the door, "Let's go get something to eat."

Buffy nodded, "Sure," and rose from her seat. Dean placed his hand at the small of her back and escorted her through the crowed lobby bar.

The sun was close to setting, tinting the sky and coloring everything in a rosy glow. The evening air was still warm enough that Buffy didn't need more than her light wrap to keep her warm. Dean looked her over again and paused at her shoes. With an amused smirk he asked, "Can you walk in those?"

"Yes," she answered with a playful swat at his arm and a smile.

"Good, the place we're goin' is a few blocks this way," Dean nodded his head then rested his hand on the small of her back again.

"Thanks for meeting me," Buffy said after they had walked a block.

"Believe me, it's my pleasure," Dean replied making Buffy wonder how he always knew what to say to make her feel like blushing.

"Um, where's Sam?"

Dean took his hand off her back and ducked his head for a second before shrugging, "Left him in Illinois. Didn't want a chaperone this time." He put his hands in his pockets as he walked.

"Oh," Buffy responded, she missed his hand on her. She glanced over at him, slid her hand through his arm, then leaned into him. "So-o what? You're expecting me to behave myself?"

Dean smirked and turned his head to her. "Hope not." Buffy kept her eyes on the street ahead but could feel his smile.

 

Faith grinned as she looked as Sam's sleeping form. He was even more fun sober than he had been their first night together. Faith rolled out of bed, careful not to disturb him and dressed in Sam's shirt. She slipped out the door. "Come on, nerd patrol, answer the damn phone," Faith mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Hell-O, Faith. What can I do for you?" Andrew's chipper greeting made Faith's eyes roll.

"Andrew, I need you to go super research geek for me and learn everything there is to know about crossroad deals and how to get someone out of one, got that?"

"Geez, Faith, no need to get so bossy. A nice 'please' and--"

"Andrew, I don't have time for that. Find out everything you can and get back to me ASAP."

"Faith, you didn't make the deal, did --"

"No, not me, a friend. Just find out what you can, okay?" Faith hung up and paced. She hoped Dean would be smart enough to tell Buffy, or she'd be really pissed when this got back to her. She bit her lip and debated calling Angel.

 

When they arrived on Beale Street, Buffy's head nearly spun taking in all the lights. "Wow, would never have expected this from where the hotel is."

"Yeah, it's a fun little street," Dean acknowledged as he led her down another sidewalk. Every bar's doors were open and music could be heard every step of the way. Dean led her into a small restaurant. "Hope you like spicy," he added as they were seated.

While they waited for their orders to be served, Buffy looked around the restaurant before turning her eyes to Dean. She couldn't help but smile at him, "This is nice," she said.

"Yeah, you wouldn't have guessed it was a nice place from the outside, right?" Dean replied.

"Not at all," Buffy agreed. "And the hotel," she looked at Dean, "way extravagant. I'm not that high maintenance. I'm more of a Holiday Inn type." Buffy paused for second, "but that's not what I meant. I meant this. You and me, here," she went on, "not the restaurant." Dean's face brightened in response. "When I called you from the airport, I was only thinking of killing time while I waited for my flight." Buffy nervously pushed her silverware on the table, then looked at Dean again. "You're more fun to talk to than most other people I know." Buffy felt her color rise, her mind wasn't able to grasp the words she wanted to say. "I didn't expect you to drop everything to see me." Dean's head tilted a bit and he studied her, but before he could add anything she continued. "I, um, I appreciate it," she shrugged. "I would have probably just holed myself up in whatever hotel was near the airport, ordered room service, and watched reruns all night. So, um, thanks, for this."

Dean shook his head slightly, "Like I said before, it's my pleasure." He looked around for a second and sighed. "I needed a break, and, with a great girl like you, stuck in a city I actually like," he shrugged and smiled, "playing hooky made perfect sense. As far as the hotel, I figured you may as well spoil yourself."

Buffy laughed. "I haven't played hooky in ages." Then her brows knit together. "In fact, when I did, I was still usually doing the," she lowered her voice, "slayer thing." She leaned back and smiled at him, "I like this way more."

Dean looked surprised for a moment before he shook his head in a laugh. "Doing the slayer thing, that, really wasn't playing hooky." He paused as the waiter brought their dinners. "Playing hooky is about having fun, not working, and not going to school."

Buffy smirked at him, "So, you think of yourself as an expert."

"Back in the day, I was, sweetheart," he replied with a wink.

"And, I suppose, you always played hooky to be with some girl," Buffy teased.

Dean nodded, but was smiling playfully at her. "Best reason to skip out is for a girl."

Buffy shook her head and laughed. "I don't know if I should feel flattered or insulted that I just joined a slew of other girls."

Dean chuckled. "Well, if it helps, I haven't played hooky in years."

 

Faith crawled into bed and kissed Sam awake. "Hey, Sam," she whispered into her kiss.

Sam blinked open his eyes and smiled. He stretched towards her to return the kiss. "Hey, beautiful, sorry I fell asleep, I --"

"No worries," Faith grinned with a pat on his chest. "But before round two, let's get some food."

"Sounds good," Sam sat up, "I'm gonna go rinse off." He cocked his head to the side and grinned, "But, by my count, we're on round four."

Faith laughed and watched him walk into the bathroom. Screw the food, she thought, now I'm hungry for some Sammy. She slid off the shirt she borrowed and followed him into the bathroom.

Sam was hardly startled when Faith asked, "Need help with those hard to reach places?" He simply pulled her under the spray with him. He didn't think he had another round in him, until Faith decided to use her lathered body to wash his.

 

After they finished dinner, Buffy and Dean returned to a Beale Street that was still bustling. Dean placed his hand on Buffy's lower back and she let Dean guide her into one of the many blues clubs. Once inside, Buffy moved closer to him, wrapping her arm around his back. Dean spoke into her ear, "Let's dance," and led her to the floor.

Buffy delighted at the feeling of being in Dean's embrace. Something about the way he moved when they danced made her melt inside. She had lost track of time as they danced. Buffy didn't remember how many songs they danced to, but eventually the band took a break, so they did, too. "I need a drink," she breathed fanning herself with her hand.

Dean took her other hand and led her to the now crowded bar. "What would you like?"

Buffy tilted her head and looked up at him, her eyes traveling from his eyes to his mouth and slowly back up to his eyes. "Vodka is good, I guess. Um, with lemonade?" Dean smiled into her eyes for a moment before he pulled her closer and ordered a beer and vodka lemonade from the bartender. As Buffy drank her cocktail, she watched Dean drink his. When he tipped his head back, Buffy had to fight the urge to press her lips to his neck. She looked away before she gave in to temptation.

Before she even finished her drink, Dean took the glass from her and set it on the bar with his. "It's gotten too crowded in here. Let's go somewhere else."

 

Buffy nodded and let him lead her out of the bar. Once they hit the sidewalk, Buffy shivered immediately, missing the heat from the crowded bar. Dean took off his suit coat and slipped it over her shoulders. He rubbed her arms through the material, "Better?" he asked with his lips brushing against her ear.

Buffy nodded and leaned back into him for a brief moment. She tilted her head as she was about to thank him, but Dean took the opportunity to casually slip his arm around her and led them down the sidewalk to a quieter, less crowded bar,

 

Once inside, he led her to a booth away from the small stage where the band played. "This okay?" he asked as he slid in next to her.

"Yes," Buffy nodded though she wasn't sure if Dean was referring to the bar, the booth or where he sat, not that it mattered.

A waitress came over and placed glasses of ice water in front of them. With a flirtatious smile at Dean, she asked, "What can I get for you?"

Dean looked to Buffy who answered, "A vodka lemonade."

Dean added, "I'll have a bottle of Bud."

Buffy looked around. "It's strange, I thought I'd see way more Elvis stuff."

"You haven't seen enough?" Dean asked somewhat surprised at her admission.

Buffy shook her head. "I haven't seen any. I always thought Memphis would be all Elvis, but I haven't even heard one of his songs."

Dean wrinkled his brow and tilted his head as he listened. "This is an Elvis song."

"It is?!" Buffy was shocked, it didn't sound like any Elvis song she ever heard.

Dean laughed. "Sure, I mean, the band's not playing it like he did but," he paused to listen another second, "yeah, 'Trying To Get To You'. This is Elvis. He wasn't always 'Hound Dog' or 'Blue Suede Shoes'."

"Hmm." Buffy shrugged.

"Well, next time you're stuck in Memphis you can check out Graceland," Dean suggested. "Or we could do it tomorrow. What time is your flight?"

"Flight?" Buffy asked with wide eyes. "Ohmigod, I forgot to book my flight." She covered her face with her hand while Dean laughed.

"So, you'll book one tomorrow," Dean chuckled through his attempt to comfort her stress. "At least you don't have to worry about waking up early."

"I guess you're right," Buffy replied as her hand fell and she smiled at him. "So since, you've been here before, did you go through Graceland?"

"No." Dean shook his head with a laugh, "But back when we were kids, Sammy and I snuck into his car museum across the street from Graceland." Buffy looked at him in pretend shock. "What? The guy had some great cars." He took a sip of his beer.

As Buffy lifted Dean's suit coat off her shoulders, she felt Dean's phone vibrate in the pocket. She handed the phone to him, "Here, you're vibrating." She noticed the screen read four missed calls.

Dean grimaced as he took the phone from her and looked at the caller ID. He mumbled, "Sorry," to Buffy and answered the call, "Yeah." He shifted in his seat facing away from her slightly. "I told you, I don't know, why?" He listened for a moment. "No, I wasn't planning on it," his reply sounded irritated to Buffy and she began to feel uncomfortable. Clearly something was going on that Dean was needed for, but he was here, with her, instead. The waitress brought their drinks and Dean snapped shut his phone. "Sorry about that," he said again as he handed the waitress a few bills.

Buffy put her hand on his arm, "Dean, if you need to go, I --"

Dean shook his head, "There's no place I'd rather be, Buffy." Buffy's tight smile told him she had her doubts, so he leaned in and kissed her softly, instantly easing her fears.

 

Sam huffed and put his phone on the bedside table. Faith looked up at him from her place against the headboard. "That was short."

"Yeah, my brother wasn't in the mood to chat." Sam sat next to her and snagged a piece of pizza out of the box. "It did sound like he was at a bar. So, maybe he and Buffy were out having a good time." He looked at Faith to check her opinion.

Faith nodded. "You should call him back and tell him not to waste time with the wining and dining. She's on board."

"Faith!" Sam playfully admonished her. "Winchester men only provide the very best for our women."

"So, why'm I eating Domino's in a crappy motel?"

"Cuz, you hijack me with sex whenever I try to leave. I would have taken you someplace for real food."

Faith chuckled. "Yeah, well, the hot sex totally makes up for it."

Sam smiled his agreement. "Glad you agree."

 

Buffy didn't let Dean back away with just one kiss. After claiming his mouth one more time, Buffy sighed, "I've wanted to do that since you showed up."

Dean's raised brows were his only response, until he leaned in for another kiss. Buffy felt her temperature rise. She forced herself to pull back, unfortunately, the way Dean was looking at her wasn't helping her settle down at all. She decided that her cocktail would be the only thing the calmed her.

Dean turned from her briefly to take a sip of his beer. This time when he tilted his head back, Buffy didn't restrain herself. She put her cocktail cooled lips to his neck and was rewarded when a barely audible 'mmm' came from him. "I wanted to do that, too," she murmured.

The bar became the last place Dean wanted to be. "Let's get out of here," he said looking more at her mouth than her eyes.

Buffy sucked at the straw in her cocktail and nodded as Dean stood to lead her out of the bar.

 

In her room at the Peabody, Dean was momentarily mesmerized by the sight of Buffy reaching behind her back to drag down the zipper of her dress. He quickly snapped out of it and crossed the room to her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders to assist pushing the dress from her shoulders. He kissed her neck as the dress slowly slipped down her arms and soon was pooled at her feet.

Buffy raised her hands to her hair to remove the comb that had been keeping it up. She let one of her hands search for the bobby pins she knew where there somewhere; the other hand fell to the back of Dean's head to hold him to her neck.

Dean wrapped his arms around her, clutching her tightly to him. One of his hands made gentle, small circles on her belly before it sought out her breast. Buffy gasped as the hand caressed her through the fabric of her bra. She turned her head to him and Dean took her mouth. Buffy traced her hand over his arm, down to where he slowly slid his fingers under the waist band of her lacy panties. His fingers continued on their journey until they, too, made her gasp. Buffy rested her head back against his shoulder as he tenderly stroked her. When her breathing turned into panting, he slid a finger inside her, and continued to rub her with his thumb, turning her panting into moaning. Dean looked at her in the mirror, totally turned on by watching her lose herself to him.

Buffy opened her eyes to meet Dean's heated gaze in the reflection. Recognizing the intensity in her eyes, Dean concentrated his efforts to drive her over the edge. She practically had to clutch at him to keep her knees from buckling. Her eyes slid shut and her head fell back again as she moaned out her release. Dean slowed his strokes to bring her down, but Buffy quickly turned to face him. Hungrily attacking his lips, she undid her bra, let it fall to the floor, and began to unbutton his shirt. Dean's fingertips traced up and down her back as she pushed his shirt from his shoulders. Buffy moved her kisses to his neck, then to his collar bone, finally to his chest. Her hands made short work of his pants, and soon Buffy was able to make Dean groan as she wrapped a hand around his length and began to slowly stroke him. Dean wasn't willing to let her take him apart like that. Taking a deep breath to regain control, he guided her back to the bed.

Dean crawled over her, nearly losing himself in the way Buffy was biting her lip and gazing up at him. Once they were both completely on the bed, Buffy twined her legs through his and flipped them. Dean was surprised by this, but continued smiling at her.

Buffy took a moment to admire the playground laying before her. "Whatever am I going to do with you?" she smirked.

"Whatever you want," Dean replied in a voice deep with desire.

Buffy bit her lip playfully then leaned down to suck at his neck. She slowly began to lick and kiss her way down his body. Then without any preamble, she took him into her mouth. Dean sucked in a harsh breath and groaned out her name. She kept alternating between swallowing him as deeply as she could and teasingly licking him. When his hips left the bed. She placed a restraining hand on his thigh, but didn't remove her mouth. "Buffy," he begged intent on stopping her. "If you keep that up, I'm gonna explode." The look in his eye told her he wasn't lying. "I wanna be inside you."

Buffy sat back and grinned before shimmying out of her panties. "Dean, I know you're good for more than one turn."

"Yeah," he smirked, "but I wanna make you scream my name."

Buffy nodded slowly, all bravado gone, "Yeah, you're good at that, from what I remember." She straddled him and unhurriedly allowed him to completely fill her. Dean sat up, Buffy wrapped her legs around him, and they slowly built a dizzying momentum.

Buffy was sure her nails were doing damage to his shoulders, but she couldn't let go if she tried. Dean's mouth was busy taking turns teasing her nipples. Sucking and licking, making Buffy whine and groan and ride him all the harder. He looked up at her to find her head thrown back, eyes closed, mouth open and a "God, Buffy," escaped him.

Suddenly, she tensed around him and gripped his shoulders even tighter. Buffy wasn't sure, but she might have screamed his name. What she was sure of was the fact that there was a chance all of Memphis knew she had an orgasm.

After a few more thrusts, Dean buried his head in the crook of her neck and growled out her name as his climax overcame him.

 

Dean admired Buffy's sleeping form then checked the clock. He rubbed a hand over his face. What am I doing? he berated himself. He lay back down, unsure whether to wrap an arm around her or leave. He knew this wasn't the time to get involved with anyone. Getting dizzy at the back and forth inside his head over the issue, he silently rolled out of bed.

Buffy rolled onto her side and opened her eyes only to find the bed empty. She pulled the sheet to cover herself and sat up. She heard a noise on the far side of the room where Dean was putting on his shoes. "You're leaving?" Buffy hoped the question didn't make her sound desperate.

"Hey," Dean whispered and walked back to sit on the bed. "I didn't mean to wake you." He ran a hand gently through her hair. He knew he couldn't just leave her.

"Light sleeper," Buffy shrugged.

"Uh, I was starving, so, I was headed to the vending machine," he lied quickly. "Can I get you something?"

Buffy thought for a moment. "Wait, did you check the mini fridge?"

Dean wrinkled his brow, "No, why?"

Buffy's smile beamed in the darkness, "Well, there's a sandwich from that place you like in there."

Dean gaped at her for a second, in complete awe, "Seriously? You have something from Interstate Barbeque in there?" He got up and crossed over to the fridge. He pulled out the bag and grinned at her. "Damn, if I didn't think you were perfect before, this just sealed the deal. You're awesome."

Buffy grinned brightly and Dean toed off his shoes and moved to sit next to her in bed. He handed her one of the wrapped sandwiches keeping the other for himself. Closing his eyes and letting the flavor wash over him, Dean moaned in approval. "God, even cold this is the best barbeque ever." He looked at Buffy. "You like it?"

Buffy wiped at her mouth as she chewed her first bite and nodded, "Mm-hmm." After she swallowed her bite, she went on, "I can't believe I forgot about these. We coulda stayed in tonight," she paused. "I coulda shown you what a cheap date I can be. Pick up some beer," she shrugged, "and then sex and barbeque." She held her sandwich up like she was toasting with it then looked at him hoping for a reaction.

Dean, indeed, looked surprised for a minute, before he 'toasted' with his sandwich and laughed, "All right. Well, I know what I'm doing tomorrow." I'm spending as much time with you as I can, he thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

In the morning, Buffy found herself alone, yet again. She sighed and reined in her disappointment. No matter how nice last night was, guys like Dean, she reminded herself, were more of a one night stand than a chance at a relationship. She wrapped the sheet around her and walked to the small desk in the room. A couple of hours until hotel check out and she also needed to book a flight home. Take a long hot shower, she told herself, that will help you…she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and flashed on the memory of seeing her and Dean in that same mirror. Maybe a cold shower instead.

 

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In the diner, Sam could barely believe his eyes as he watched Faith eat more than he'd ever see his brother finish at one sitting.

Faith recognized the shocked look, it wasn't the first time she surprised Sam with her appetite. "Babe, I gotta keep my energy up if we're spending the entire day together," she teased with a wink.

Sam stole her orange juice. "You and me both," he added with his own wink.

Their joking ended when her cell phone rang. "It's Andrew," Faith said as she raised the phone, "I gotta take this." Sam nodded. "Andrew, Lord of the geeks, tell me you have a something for me, and I'll get you front row ticks to Timberlake or ." Sam gave her a confused look.

"Faith, I'm sorry, but I don't have good news," Andrew began timidly.

"Not what I wanted to hear.."

"I know, I know, but that doesn't mean I don't have news," Andrew shifted in his seat. "There are lots of demons that work the crossroads. If you can tell me which demon holds the contract, we can probably offer a counter deal or at least have a better idea what they.."

Faith's eyes flitted over to Sam, "Andrew, I'll have to get back to you."

"Business?" Sam asked with a touch of worry on his face.

Faith shook her head, "Nah, the guy is just looking into something for me. It's all good."

Sam's smile returned, "So you don't have to leave anytime soon?"

Faith grinned slowly, "Why Mr. Winchester, what have you got in mind?"

 

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Buffy wrapped a towel around herself and headed for her suitcase when the door opened. Spinning in surprise, she met Dean's amazed smile. "I was hoping I'd find you still in bed," his eyes traveled over her. "Finding you in just a towel works, too." He winked.

Buffy fought the blush she could feel growing and held the towel tightly. "Um, hey."

Dean dropped his duffel to the floor and placed the beverage carrier from his other hand on the small desk. "I got you some coffee. Cream two sugars, right?" Buffy nodded. Dean handed her the large Styrofoam cup. "Here," he took a sip from the other cup, his eyes roaming over her, resting for a moment on where the towel was folded in on itself.

"Thanks," Buffy took the cup, eager to look anywhere but at Dean. She must look like a drowned rat, she thought. "Mm, it's good. Just what I needed." She braved a look at him, then she looked at his duffel bag on the floor. "If you want a shower, I should warn you, the water takes a while to warm up."

Dean slowly moved his stare from the towel to pause at her mouth, then her eyes. "Right, a cold shower is just what I need if you hope to get out of here by check out time." However, he found himself pulling her in for a kiss, instead.

Buffy relaxed into his embrace. She couldn't deny that she was relieved, no happy, that he'd returned. This kiss was sending her heart rate soaring. With one hand holding her coffee, and the other at the back of Dean's neck, Buffy no longer had a secure hold on the towel. Making it seem like a careless accident, Dean's fingers gently tugged at the towel, causing it to slip from her. Buffy broke the kiss and looked up at him, "Smooth."

Dean chuckled as he kissed her neck, "You like that? I've got lots of moves I'd love to show you." He ran his fingertips down her spine.

Buffy shook her head in amused annoyance. Though her heart was racing, she took her hand from his neck and placed it on his chest, slightly pushing him back. Her hand with the coffee also held the towel over her front. "Dean, check out time. Shower?"

Dean stepped away. "Can't blame a guy for trying. You shouldn't look so tempting."

"I look like a drowned rat," Buffy's brow raised in skepticism.

Dean shook his head, "No, definitely not a drowned rat, sweetheart. You look," he turned and his eyes took a slow walk over her, he smirked, "like my fantasy come true." He turned away, took his shaving kit from his duffel and walked to the bathroom. "But, I know, I know, check out time, cold shower. I'm going."

Buffy's mouth fell open. She contemplated following him when she remembered she still needed a flight home. Sighing, she picked through her papers and called her airline. After a few minutes, she was able to schedule a flight that took her home by way of a layover in Cincinnati.

She looked to the bathroom door. The shower was still running, if she had been Faith, she thought to herself, Dean would have company. She sighed, she just didn't have the courage.

Hanging her head back, she called the 'office'.

"Morning, Buffy, how're you doing?" Buffy relaxed hearing Xander's cheerful greeting.

"Hey, Xan, I'm good, but I'm not gonna be home for a while," Buffy waited for Xander's complaint.

"Hey, don't worry about it kid. We got it handled," Xander continued. "Faith's got Andrew working on something and Keisha got the training down. Relax. We can survive without you for one more day." He paused to watch Andrew wheel his office chair across the room. "Just one though, after that all bets are off, and we'll need you back here. Even if it's just to keep me from strangling Andrew."

"Okay, Xander. I'll call when I get in." Hanging up, she felt a bit out of place. It seemed that Cleveland didn't need her to hurry back, but she really shouldn't play hooky any more.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's going on in that beautiful head of yours?" Sam asked tucking a strand of Faith's hair behind her ear.

Faith tilted her head and glanced at him before squinting through the hotel's dingy window at the sun. She pressed her lips together. "Faith?"

She sighed heavily and sank onto the bed. "Don't be mad," she began, "but I asked for some help with Dean's deal." She nervously looked over at him, not sure what to expect. "I'm, uh, I'm great with the slaying and the ass kicking, but research just ain't my thing." Her fingers twiddled nervously and the sun gleaming off the cars in the lot was suddenly fascinating.

"Huh," Sam mumbled as he settled back against the dresser. "I'm not mad, Faith. I'm grateful. I don't know what your people can do, but I couldn't find anything."

"Yeah," Faith nodded, looking him in the eyes again, "so far it's a bust, but they've only had twenty four hours." She shrugged, "The one thing they asked for was the demon's name."

Sam solemnly shook his head, "Don't know it. And believe me I've tried."

"That's just one piece of the puzzle, Sam. We will find something to stop the deal." Sam nodded but Faith knew he didn't have much hope. She stood in front of him. Holding his face in her hands, she said, "Sam, we've got the best geeks in the world researching it and we've got a ton of awesome weapons. We will win." She tried for her most convincing look.

Sam nodded, again, feeling a slight twinge of new hope growing in him. "Thanks Faith. I know you mean well. And I know if anyone can stop this thing, you guys can." He gave her a peck, "Now, I just have to worry about facing Dean when he finds out I told you."

"Yeah, well, I'll protect you from big bad Dean," Faith teased. "But if he doesn't tell Buffy, we're all gonna need protecting."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buffy's brain melted when Dean left the bathroom in just a towel. Her eyes glazed as they traveled over his body. Oh god, I want to touch that, she thought.

"Buffy?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you got your flight?" Dean repeated as he picked through his duffel.

"Oh, yeah, uh, 1:30." Buffy mentally shook herself. No one should look that good ever, she thought to herself. She walked passed him to the bathroom to use the hair dryer.

Dean frowned as he dressed and watched Buffy blow dry her hair. He had been hoping to spend a little more time with her. Her ringing phone dragged his attention away from her. He picked it up and waved it at her, and she made a face. Shutting off the dryer she said, "Hello?" Buffy listened for a minute, "Minneapolis? Okay… uh huh, five hours? Okay, what else?……Right. Nothing else." She looked over at Dean, but he was busy scrolling through his texts. "Yeah, I guess, it'll have to do." She grumbled as she hung up. "Damn airlines."

"What happened?" Dean asked without looking up.

Buffy took a deep breath and placed the last of her things in her case. "They changed my flight, now it's 3:30. And, I'm on standby. They don't know if they can get me on that flight. And if they do, I have to fly to Minneapolis, have a five hour layover, and arrive home sometime after one in the morning." She rolled her eyes and took out some frustration by collapsing on the bed.

Dean squinted at her, "Why are you flying to Minneapolis?"

Buffy waved her hand from the bed, "It's their hub or something. I don't know."

Dean nodded, "Stand by? So you don't really even have a flight?"

"Ugh, no, not really," Buffy put a hand over her eyes. "But, if I want to get home, I've got to go sit at the airport and hope they can get me on the flight."

Dean thought that over for a second, before smiling and grabbing her hand. "Come on, woman, Let's go get some breakfast."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Thanks, Andrew, I take back half the stuff I've said about you." The gleam in Faith's eyes told Sam that they finally had something to go on. "And yeah I'll get you those tickets like I promised. Later." She smirked at Sam, "Got time for a small road trip?"

"Uh, sure, I guess. Where're we going?"

"Indy," Faith said as she stood to gather her things.

"Why Indy?"

"Because Sammy, Andrew says that's where the head honcho of the crossroad demons happens to be." Sam looked surprised. "And you and me are gonna make him tell us about Dean's contract."

Minutes later, they were packed and throwing their bags into the back of Faith's jeep. As she walked to the driver's door, Faith paused. "You wanna drive?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," she replied as she tossed him the keys. "You're on the tall side and I don't think the passenger seat moves back much."

Sam nodded smiling, "Thanks."

"No prob," Faith assured, "just know I'm in charge of the music."

Sam chuckled, at least he got to drive. "Fine by me Faith."

The opening notes to the Foo Fighters 'Monkey Wrench' blared from the speakers when he turned the key. "Foo Fighters?"

Faith faced him in shock. "Don't even think about saying something against Dave and the boys."

Chuckling again, "I wouldn't dream of it. I actually like the Foo Fighters."

"Good," Faith nodded, "or this would be a very ugly ride."

Sam shook his head, smiling to himself, driving, and music that was less than ten years old, yeah, not complaining.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you know about anything going down in Indianapolis?" Dean asked as they finished eating.

Buffy shook her head. "No, why?"

"Faith's taking Sam there."

"Oh," Buffy suddenly felt a tinge of jealousy. Faith was going to spend more time with Sam and she was going to leave Dean in the next hour just to sit in the airport for the rest of her life. "So, you going, too?"

Dean stared into her eyes for a moment as he thought. It would be good for Sam to work a job with Faith. Sam was going to have to get by without him soon. He moved his eyes to his plate and looked to be debating something. "You think you're going be able to get on that flight?"

Buffy blinked at the subject change. "Not with my luck," she complained.

Dean waved the waitress over and pulled out his wallet. "Wanna go see Graceland?"

Buffy gaped for a second. "Then I definitely won't make my flight."

"So," Dean shrugged. "You weren't gonna make it anyway."

"How'm I gonna get home?" She asked laughing.

"When do you have to be back?" Dean asked as he rose to leave.

Buffy was slow to rise as she was thinking over the implications of Dean's questions. "Uh, not really any specific time, I guess."

Dean nodded. "Alright, then, let's go pay our respects to the King." He put his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to the Impala

"Uh, Dean. I still have to get home." Buffy spoke slowly as she was flabbergasted at the change in plans.

"Yeah, we'll leave right after Graceland. You'll be home safe and sound tomorrow." He pecked her temple.

Buffy's brows shot up. "You're going to drive me all the way to Cleveland?!"

Dean nodded again. "Not a big deal, Buf. Sam can meet up with me there." He smiled to himself as Buffy settled in for the cross town drive.

"I guess I can play hooky for one more day," she admitted with a smile.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hmpf, I guess Indy should have been obvious," Sam said as they pulled off the expressway. "Check out the nickname," he said with a point to the "Welcome" sign at the side of the road.

"Crossroads of America," Faith read, "Well, I'll be dammed. No wonder the Monty Hall of the crossroads hangs here." She looked over at Sam and saw his jaw tighten. "You ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay, you know I've got your back, right?"

Sam nodded. "We're just gonna talk, get the information we need. No deals."

"No deals." Faith nodded, "A demon may die, but no deals."

Sam glanced at her, unsure if she was serious.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, Dean and Buffy found themselves on the Graceland tour with a dozen senior citizens all of whom were life long die hard Elvis fans. As they waited their turn to be let into the mansion, Buffy wrapped her arm around Dean and whispered, "I thought it would be bigger."

"Me, too," he whispered back, placing his arm around her waist.

"Excuse me," one of the ladies tapped Dean on his shoulder. "Would you mind taking a picture of us?"

"No, of course not," Dean answered, though he frowned at releasing Buffy. However, in a few minutes, he had the ladies in several poses and in fits of laughter before he returned the camera.

One of the ladies grabbed Buffy's arm, and whispered, "Oh, sweetie, he's a keeper." Then she asked, "Would you like us to take a picture of the two of you?"

Buffy looked at Dean and shrugged, "Okay." She handed the woman her phone then stood smiling next to Dean at the doors of Graceland.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The address Andrew gave turned out to be a park, kind of public for what they had in mind, but, if that's where he was to be found, that's where they had to work. Sam gathered the required items and buried them in the center of the cinder path, under a bridge, while Faith took cover.

They didn't have to wait long. A middle aged, balding man entered the path and cleared his throat catching Sam's attention. The man briefly flashed his red eyes at Sam before rolling his human ones in annoyance. "Winchester," he spat. "You really think I'm going to offer you any kind of deal?" The demon began to circle Sam, coming to an abrupt stop before stepping under a devil's trap Sam had drawn under the bridge. The demon shook his head. "Clever, not clever enough, but clever." The demon put his hands on his hips, "You killed one of my bright up and comers. I had high hopes for that one. And you put her down like a dog."

"We're about to do the same to you," Faith smirked as she left her hiding spot.

Fear briefly crossed the demon's face. "You brought a slayer." He appraised Faith with a raised brow, "Interesting."

"Glad you think so," Faith smirked and slid a blade from her sleeve.

The demon tilted his head. "Well, Winchester, this is an improvement over the trash you've been slumming with." He examined Faith again. "Not the magical demon killing knife. All that's going to do is hurt this meat suit I'm wearing."

Faith kept her smirk in place. "Oh, it'll do more than that. It'll send you home." Menacingly she twirled the weapon and pounced toward the demon sending him closer to the devil's trap he had avoided before.

"All I want are some answers," Sam intervened.

"Well, since you have me at a disadvantage, ask away," the demon had quickly composed himself, and pretended to inspect his nails.

"How do we get my brother out of his deal?"

The demon shook his head and sighed, "That's not going to happen. I no longer hold his contract."

"What?" Sam demanded. "Who holds his contract?"

The demon leered at them, "Demons are lining up to greet your brother. You think I'm going to deny my brothers and sisters a chance at filleting a Winchester?"

Sam stepped into the trap and grabbed the demon by the throat. "Tell me who holds the contract!"

The demon threw Sam into the support of the bridge. "Why don't you ask your precious Ruby?" Faith and Sam exchanged looks. "Tell me, Sammy, how did she take it when you traded up for a slayer?" The demon smirked and glanced at Faith. "Not that I blame you. I always did like brunettes more than blondes."

"I was never with Ruby," Sam retorted with a disgusted look on his face, but the demon spoke louder.

"Demons don't like being dumped. I'm surprised you have all your parts in working order."

Faith rounded on Sam. "She's a demon?!" Faith seethed. "What the hell, Sam?"

The demon smirked and dusted off his hands, "My work here is done." With a bow of his head, he disappeared.

Faith and Sam slumped their shoulders simultaneously and muttered, "Damn."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dean was thoroughly enjoying himself, mostly because Buffy appeared to taking pleasure in every moment and every room, 'oohing' and 'aahing' with the elderly ladies. When they arrived at what the tour guide called the trophy room, they both were impressed. "I thought Elvis was fat," Buffy whispered to Dean.

"He was," Dean confirmed pointing at a photo.

Buffy countered by pointing at Elvis in a black leather outfit. "That, is not fat."

Dean chuckled, "Well, he wasn't always fat, but fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches and bacon cheeseburgers, finally caught up with him."

"Hmm," Buffy nodded. "That's too bad. I really like bacon cheeseburgers."

Dean laughed, "Me, too."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Faith gave Sam an angry look and headed back towards her jeep. "Faith, wait," Sam called after her while he jogged to catch her.

Faith shook off his hand. "Faith," Sam began, "we were just using her to get information."

"Really, how's that working for you? Has she really helped you or has she been using you? Demons lie, Sam. You can't trust them." She had reached the jeep by then. She opened the back, angrily tossed her knife inside. With a deep sigh she sat on the bumper of her jeep. "Demons lie, Sam."

"I know," Sam retorted hurriedly, "but Ruby has saved my ass and Dean's ass more than once."

Again Faith shook her head.

"She said she can get Dean out of his deal," Sam continued pleading even though Faith was looking away. "Faith, I don't trust her, I'm just using her to try to save Dean."

Faith nodded, "Just using her."

"Yeah," Sam said and joined Faith on the bumper of her jeep.

"Sam," Faith began with a slow shake of her head, "demons can't be trusted." Sam was about to interrupt, "They lie and manipulate to get what they want. They never care about you or what you want. She's using you, Sam."

"No, Faith --"

"Sam," Faith sighed, "it happened to me. I know how easy it is to believe that you are the one pulling the strings and doing the manipulating, but, trust me, that's just part of the demon's game."

Faith took a breath then got off the bumper. Taking Sam's hand, she walked to a nearby bench. "Before I became a slayer, my life sucked. I had no dad and my mom drank herself unconscious most nights. Then, whammy, I'm a badass slayer. I've got super powers. And all that anger I've been holding onto? I get to take it out on big bad monsters." She looked at Sam with a smile, "I thought I was the shit."

"Then, my watcher gets killed and I go to Sunnydale." Faith took a moment to gather courage. "In Sunnydale, Buffy's the shit. I try, but I'm not her, so," she shrugged.

Seeing that her confession was painful, Sam edged closer to her and put his arm around her.

"Well, I screw up, I accidentally kill a human in a fight," Faith looked down at her hands. "Buffy and the gang want me to get help, but the town's big bad demon tells me it's okay. He tells me he can make all my worries go away and can give me everything I ever wanted." She ran a hand through her hair. "I figure this sounds good. I'm badass. I'll take what this guy offers, then, if I want, I'll waste him." She looked at Sam. "He wanted me to kill Buffy." Sam leaned back in shock, seeing that look on his face, Faith continued. "And I tried, but Buffy kicked my ass and sent me into a coma."

"But.."

Faith nodded, "It took a long time, we've obviously worked things out. Built our trust back. The thing is, if I hadn't listened to that demon in the first place.."

"You were a kid."

"Yeah, so I guess I had an excuse." Faith stared at Sam, when he looked away she went on. "Demons will tell you exactly what you want to hear, just so they can use you." She put her hand on his leg. "Sam, I don't know what her game is, but she's trying to earn your trust. Once she has it, she's gonna use you and you won't even know it. You'll still think you're the one calling the shots."

Sam shook his head dismissively. "Faith, I'm telling you, it's not like that."

"Okay, Sam, I hope not." She turned to him. "You're not sleeping with her, right?"

"Ew, god no." Sam shuddered.

"Good, cuz no amount of showers can wash that kind of skank off," Faith said with a wink and a shove at his arm.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the gift shop, Dean put on a pair of Elvis sunglasses and a sneer to make Buffy giggle. He gave her his best, "Thank you. Thank you very much." And she laughed out loud. For a moment Dean thought he was becoming addicted to that sound.

Buffy grabbed a different pair of sunglasses and replaced those Dean was wearing with ones that had sideburns attached. He gave the sneer again. Buffy laughed again, "Oh, yeah, that's hot." She took his hand and looked around, "Now let's get you some black leather pants."

Dean's eyes bugged out as she led him across the store. "Wait, what?"

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Faith leaned against Sam. "Well, Winchester, what do we do now?"

Sam dragged a thumb down her back. "I don't know. You think your guy in Cleveland can come up with anything?"

Faith felt Sam's desperation, it seemed like they were back to square one. "Yeah, sure, Andrew is great. If anyone can find something he can." She hoped Sam believed her, even though she wasn't confident. "Where are we meeting Dean?"

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buffy grinned at Dean as they walked to the car holding hands, wearing matching gold Elvis sunglasses. "I got you something else," she teased.

"Just 'cause they didn't have the leather pants, doesn't mean you had to get me something," Dean shook his head at her, but smiled.

She held out the bag from the store. "I didn't have time to wrap it," she joked.

Opening the bag, Dean made a face. "A Elvis CD, uh, thanks."

Buffy laughed, "I thought we could listen to it as we drove."

Dean looked at her, "Sorry, babe, the Impala doesn't have a CD player."

"Oh," Buffy pouted, "Well, now it's a sucky gift."

Dean pulled her to him, enfolded her in his arms, and kissed her. "Babe, it's an awesome gift. I love it. We just can't listen to it in the car." He held the passenger door open for her.

When they stopped to fuel up, Dean's phone rang. "It's Sam."

"'kay, you need something? I'm gonna get a soda," Buffy asked as she climbed out of the car.

Dean shook his head. "Hey, Sam, what's up?"

Sam paused hearing his brother's happy tone. "Uh, nothing. I was wondering where you were so we could figure out a place to meet."

"Sammy, I'm in Graceland."

"What? You're where?"

"You heard me, Graceland."

"You're still in Memphis?"

"Yeah."

"And you went to Graceland?" Sam was shocked and a bit jealous.

"Yeah."

"I can't believe you went without me," Sam muttered. "So, how was it?"

"Cool. Smaller than I thought it would be, but cool." Dean finished pumping gas and leaned against the car. "But, now I'm driving to Cleveland. Unless you need help with the job you and Faith are working."

Sam pursed his lips. "No, the job is done." He paused. "Cleveland, huh? What, you got it so bad for Buffy you got to see her already?" Sam joked.

Dean shook his head, chuckling. "Nice try, Sammy, but I'm driving Buffy home. She couldn't get a flight."

"Sure, whatever, Dean." Sam joked. "I guess we can meet up in Cleveland, then. Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sounds good, Sam. How'd the job go?"

"Uh, fine. Went fine. See ya tomorrow." Sam disconnected quickly leaving Dean staring at his phone.

Willow opened the photo Buffy sent her and smiled, Buffy sure looked happy. So did the guy. She quickly dialed Buffy. "Nice picture, Buffy. Is that Dean?"

"Yeah. He took me to Graceland," Buffy said with a smile in her voice. She peeked out the gas station window. "He volunteered to drive me home."

"So, this officially makes it more than a one night stand," Willow teased. "Is he as 'life changing' good as you remembered?"

Buffy felt herself blush, "Oh god, yes." Lowering her voice she whispered, "I think I screamed last night."

"Ohmigod."

"I know. I'm so not that girl, but yeah, he does that to me," Buffy said as she paid for the gas and sodas. "He just keeps surprising me. First, I think he's left, but he got me coffee. Then, Graceland. Now, he's driving me home."

"Wow. He must really like you, Buffy."

Buffy sighed happily as she strolled to the car. "I don't know, Willow. I'll call later, okay?"

"Hey, I'm just gonna go pay, and we'll get out of here," Dean said as he tucked his phone into his pocket.

"I got it already," Buffy replied as she climbed in.

"Buffy, you didn't have to.."

"You're driving me home. It's kinda the least I could do." She handed him a coke.

When Dean fired up the engine, he slid a tape in the cassette player. Foghat's 'Slow Ride' began to play. Buffy's eyes widened. She reached forward and turned up the volume. "Ohmigod, I love this song."

Dean looked shocked, "You do? You like Foghat?"

"Yeah, it's from that movie, Dazed and Confused. I love that movie. I watch it every time it's on. Is this the soundtrack? Tell me this is the soundtrack."

"You're kidding, right?"

Buffy's mouth fell open she almost looked insulted. "No, seriously, I love it." She shifted in her seat.

"Well, awesome, 'cause, yeah. That's got most of the same songs as that movie." Dean looked a little amazed.

"Then, this makes up for no CD player," She leaned over, kissed his check then started to bop her head in time with the music, a smile plastered on her face. "All right, all right, all right," she said in a horrible Southern accent.

Dean laughed, "That's the worst McConaughey ever."

Buffy beamed at him and playfully slapped his shoulder. "Shut up," she grinned and went back to bopping her head to the music. "Slow ride.." she sang along.

Dean shook his head but his smile faded as guilt gnawed at him. Of course he'd meet a girl like her when he only had a month left. His life sucked like that. He knew he should tell Buffy about the deal. He also knew that she'd try to save him, which could end up killing Sam. Not an option. The consequences of the deal were his problem, he didn't want her to think she had to put up with his bullshit.

Buffy had chosen to 'play hooky', as they were calling it, with him because she never took a break from her responsibilities. Grateful? Lucky? Didn't begin to describe how he felt about that. If I tell her, he wondered, is she gonna feel used? Dean couldn't stand that. Couldn't this just become a good memory for them, instead? Maybe I should just disappear after I drop her off in Cleveland, he wondered.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam disconnected with Dean and looked at Faith with a smile. "You're not gonna believe this." He said with a small shake of his head.

Faith raised her brow, "What?"

"They went to Graceland. Dean and Buffy. He's driving her back to Cleveland, now," Sam answered at her joined Faith leaning against her jeep.

"Hm," Faith nodded. "Good for her." She nudged Sam. "Dean must be as good as he looks if he's getting Buffy to take a break from slaying."

Sam's mouth fell open, "Wha--" Faith's smirk was slowing turning to a grin. Sam smirked as he realized she was teasing. "Well, let's just hope he uses some of the time to tell her about the deal. And not just sex."

Faith laughed. "For Buffy's sake, I hope there's sex. Lots of it." Sam's eyes went wide, much to Faith's amusement. "She gave Dean glowing reviews last time. Said he --"

"Faith!" Sam nearly shouted. He squeezed his eyes shut. "I so don't want to know."

Faith just chuckled as she wrapped her arms around him. "Okay, but don't worry. I wouldn't have come back for more if I didn't think the sex was mind blowing." She went on her toes and sucked at his neck.

"Mind blowing?" Sam murmured putting his arms around her waist as she teased his neck.

"Mm- hm. Toe curling."

"Toe--" was all Sam got to say before Faith's tongue teased his.

* * *

  
As they drove, Buffy decided it was time to get an answer for something that had been bothering her since her and Dean met. However, she was nervous about asking, it was something of a touchy subject.

"Dean, can I ask you something?" Buffy began with trepidation.

"Shoot."

"You don't have to answer, if you don't want to. I mean I'd totally understand if you'd rather not talk about it."

Now Dean was beginning to feel nervous, "Okay, ask me anything, babe."

"How is it that you're dead? Twice?" She noticed that Dean did look surprised by the question. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay," Dean said on an exhale. "The first time was a shape shifter."

"Werewolf or slimy --"

"Slimy," Dean nodded. "In St. Louis, one took on my looks, tried to kill one of Sammy's friends, then the police killed him."

"Is that how you're wanted for murder, too?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, that thing really screwed me over," Dean paused. "It tricked Sam and even took my car."

"Yeah, I've heard those things can be nasty. I've never had to deal with one personally," Buffy admitted. "What about the FBI file? That's pretty hard to fake."

Dean was quiet as he thought back to Colorado and Agent Henricksen and Nancy.

"You don't have to tell me. I was just curious when I saw it in your file," Buffy studied him for a moment.

"A agent saw the light, or the dark," Dean paused. The memory still fresh enough to hurt. Clearing his throat he went on. "We'd been arrested, but demons were coming after us. This agent, found out the hard way that demons were real. After a demon blew up a helicopter, he sent in a report that Sam and I died in the explosion. Then he was slaughtered by the demon that's after Sam." Buffy nearly gasped. Dean tried to appear nonchalant, but Buffy could tell he was distressed by the memory.

She slid across the bench seat and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Dean."

Dean nodded then took his hand off the wheel and slipped his arm around her. They drove without talking just listening to one of Dean's old tapes.

* * *

  
That afternoon, Buffy rummaged through a box of cassettes. "Really? This is all you have?" she asked for the third time.

"Yeah, that's it," Dean said getting tired of being asked that question.

"You did grow up in the '90's, right?" she looked over at him, "You're not some fifty year old hiding in a good body, right?"

Dean snickered for a moment, "You think I got a good body, huh?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and put the box on the floor of the car. "For a fifty year old," she teased, but giggled to herself.

"Well, you seemed to enjoy it last night."

Buffy shook her head, "Enough, I am not going to feed your ego. Let's just listen to the radio." She leaned forward and fiddled with the dial.

"Babe, we're just leaving Tennessee and entering Kentucky, I'm pretty sure all you're gonna find is country music." Buffy looked at him with an unspoken 'so' on her face. "Oh, please do not defile my speakers with country music."

Just then Buffy happened upon some music, "There, this isn't bad."

Dean made a face, "Seriously?"

"One song, Dean, okay? If it sucks, I'll change it."

"Fine," Dean grumbled and they listened to a man sing.

 _Hey that gives me an idea  
Let's get out of this bar  
Drive out into the country   
And find a place to park  
I'd like to see you out in the moonlight  
I'd like to kiss you, way back in the sticks_

"See," Buffy began, "That's kinda romantic." Dean rolled his eyes.

 _I'd like to walk you through a field of wild flowers  
I'd like to check you for ticks._

Dean's mouth fell open as he heard that last line and he roared with laughter. "That's awesome. What a great line." Buffy gave him a look.

 _Now, oooo, you never know where one might be,  
There's lots places that are hard to reach_

"Taking a girl for a tick check," Dean said as he stopped laughing. The station went to a commercial and Buffy pouted. "What's wrong, babe, you were right. Not all country is bad." Dean began to laugh again, "Yeah, I'm gonna have to try that one."

Buffy made a face, "Great, we try country music for one minute and you get pick up lines." She looked at Dean who was still smiling but not laughing as hard. "I don't even get it."

Dean looked surprised but quickly composed himself. "Ticks, you know, the bug. You can get one from being in the woods or tall grass." He looked at her, "You've never had a tick check?"

"A what?"

Dean grinned slyly, "Well, we'll do one later, and you'll have a whole new appreciation for that song."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I usually have worse things to worry about than getting a tick."

Dean winked at her, "We should still check. Just to be sure."

* * *

  
When they stopped for dinner, Sam's attention was captured by a story on the news. "This is the second such attack. The first happening just over a week ago. When, Jack Thompson's body was found without a liver. Now, it appears someone has stolen a kidney."

"Did you hear that?" Sam asked Faith.

Faith nodded, "Something straight out of 'Urban Legends', hey? Gross."

"Yeah, but I've heard that story before," Sam muttered.

"We all have. It's the urban legend. Guy goes out. Gets drunk. Wakes up in a bathtub full of ice, missing a kidney," Faith shrugged noncommittally.

"Yeah, I meant besides that," Sam said distractedly. As they left the diner, he asked, "You have internet access at your place?"

Faith gave Sam an incredulous look, "Yeah, Buffy's got all the modern conveniences, Sam."

Sam didn't notice the look at all. "Good, you should drive, I wanna look at something." He reached into his bag and pulled out his dad's journal, then folded himself into the jeep's passenger seat.

* * *

  
After what seemed like days, Dean and Buffy pulled into a motel. "I'm starving," Buffy whined. "Let's walk to that diner and get something."

Dean looked across the lot at the diner. "Looks closed," he looked around more. "Hey, how about that place?" He pointed to a bar with lights that flashed 'burgers', 'wings', and 'beer'.

Buffy shrugged, "At least it's open." She took his hand as they walked over to the bar.

"Hi, how're y'all doin'?" the waitress asked with a bright smile and a strong Southern accent. "What kin I git fer ya?"

"Bacon cheeseburger," they answered in unison, then looked at each other in amusement.

The waitress was momentarily stunned, "O-kay. Ya all want fries with that?"

"Yes," again in living stereo. The waitress's eyebrows collided with her hairline.

"And bring a couple beers," Dean added.

"Alright, be right back," the waitress spoke slowly looking between the smiling couple.

* * *

  
"Buffy's house?" Sam asked as Faith pulled into Buffy's driveway. "I thought we'd be going to your place."

"I don't have one, not really, not yet, anyway. And, when I'm in Cleveland, I stay with B," Faith answered with a roll of her eyes. Hadn't she said as much before? She thought as she climbed out of the jeep. Whatever Sam was reading, really prevented him from paying attention to anything else.

They both stretched before grabbing their bags from the jeep. Faith fiddled with her keys until she found the one for Buffy's house. "Hey, I'm gonna make some calls. Make yourself at home," Faith kissed Sam on the cheek. "I won't be long."

"Okay, great," Sam replied, though he was already deep in thought and opening his laptop.

"Andrew," Faith hissed in a quiet voice. "I need to know everything you can tell me about a demon named Ruby. Right now she's wearing a blonde, but she might change, I don't know."

"Okay," Andrew responded cheerfully. "I won't bother with asking for a please or a thank you. Is this the demon holding the contract you're worried about?"

Faith tilted her head in thought. "She probably is, the little bitch, but I'm not sure. Did you find out anything else?"

Andrew sighed dramatically, "Whose named in the contract? I could get a lot farther if I at least knew that!"

Faith nodded. "I can't tell you now, I have to talk to Buffy first, but I can get that to you tomorrow. Is it possible for you to connect me with Giles?"

"Do you know what time it is in London?!" Andrew squealed. "And Buffy's on some road trip with --"

"So, that's a 'no' for Giles, I'll call him in the morning. Yeah, I know where Buffy is, but how about Red? Is she in town?"

Andrew smiled, "Yes, Willow's here, as far as I know."

"Great, later, Andrew," Faith disconnected and quickly called Willow. "Hey, Red, how's everything?"

"Fine, Faith. What's up?" Willow knew Faith only called when she needed something.

"Well, I have a friend in a bit of trouble with a crossroads deal."

"Faith," Willow complained in exasperation.

"Hey, it's not me, really, it's a friend," Faith paused, not certain if she should let Willow in on Dean's deal before she knew if Buffy knew.

"Well, I can work a protection spell, but that'll only work for so long, depending on the strength of the demon and the terms of the contract."

"Are you doing anything tomorrow? I think we'll need to pow wow over at B's tomorrow night."

"I can be there. I'll get what I need for the spell in the morning. Hey," Willow changed gears, "how was your hot rendezvous with Sam?"

Faith grinned. "Hot and still happening."

"Really? Did you know Dean is driving Buffy back here?" Willow asked, almost giggling.

"Yeah, Sam told me. Pretty cool, huh?"

"I think it's sweet that she finally found a decent guy that totally understands the slayer thing."

"Yeah, it is," Faith sighed quietly. Figures she'd find one about to be dragged to hell.

"Is everything okay, Faith?"

"Sure, Red. See you tomorrow."

* * *

  
Dean watched Buffy walk to the bar with their empty food baskets, and knew he must have had a smile on his face. She looked back at him, grinning before leaning over the bar to order two more beers. Dean took a second to realize that he had been smiling a lot more since meeting Buffy. His phone buzzing in his pocket took him from his revelry. "Hey, Bobby. What's up?"

"I finally got a line on Bela. Ever hear of a hunter named Rufus Turner? Up in Canaan, Vermont?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Well, he contacted me, after years of being a recluse. He heard we were looking for her. Says she's been to see him looking to buy a few things. He knows where she's been hiding."

"Great, Bobby, where?"

"First answer me this, are you still with that slayer?"

Dean paused, then answered slowly. "Yeah, why?"

"Cuz Rufus wants to meet her. You bring him Buffy, he tells you about Bela."

Dean looked over at Buffy. His stomach knotted when their eyes met and her face broke into a warm smile. "No way, Bobby." Dean turned away from Buffy. "There's no way I'm turning her over to some hunter."

"Dean, he knows where Bela is. He may even know what she did with the Colt. Don't you think a slayer could handle herself around an old, former, hunter?" Bobby emphasized old and former.

"Yeah, but I'm not willing to risk her to find out," Dean rubbed his hand over his face in defeat. "Bobby, if there's no other way to find Bela, or the Colt, I'll just have to come up with something else."

Recognizing the finality in Dean's tone, Bobby replied, "Just think about it. He only said he wants to meet her."

"Thanks anyway, Bobby."

"Hang on, kid. If you're not bringin' him the girl, you damn well better bring him a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue."

Dean nodded, relieved that there was something else the old man wanted. "Blue, got it. Thanks, Bobby."

Buffy noticed that Dean was no longer smiling when she returned to the table. "Was that Sam on the phone?"

"No," Dean answered, then took a long pull of his beer, "uh, my friend, Bobby. Called about a job."

"Oh," Buffy said suddenly finding the label on her beer fascinating.

Dean felt annoyed that news about Bela had to interfere with his night with Buffy. "Hey, just cuz I got busted playin' hooky, doesn't mean I gotta stop playin' hooky. It's not even really a job, it's just meeting some old guy." Buffy felt a small smile forming. "The guy's way up in Vermont, couldn't make that in one night," he said keeping an eye on her growing smile. "I'm on my second beer. There's no way I should drive anywhere, tonight. It wouldn't be safe."

Buffy looked up at him, "I've always said, 'Safety first'."

Dean held out his bottle to hers and tapped it in a toast. "That's a good motto, Batman."

* * *

  
Faith checked on Sam before quickly going to change. When she reappeared, she wore a deep red nightie. Sam's concentration was split between his laptop screen and his dad's journal, he didn't even notice her. "Are you gonna be on that all night?" Faith asked casually from across the room.

Without looking up, Sam replied, "I just need one more minute. I'm pretty sure I found….." He peeled his eyes away from the screen and was struck dumb.

"What'd ya find, Sammy?" Faith asked innocently.

"Nothing that can't wait 'til morning," Sam replied shutting the laptop and crossing the room to scoop her into his arms.

* * *

  
"I can't believe you didn't want to dance," Buffy whined, her face in a childish pout.

The bar had only been playing country music and the occasional Southern rock, Dean shuddered. Holding her hand as they walked back to the motel, Dean started, "Well, you promised me a night of beer, barbeque and sex…."

Buffy stopped, "I did? When?"

"Last night. Well, this morning, if you're gonna be technical about it." He pulled her hand to get her moving again. "But, if you're the type to go back on your word…" He turned to walk back to the bar. "I mean, I already traded the barbeque for a burger."

Releasing his hand and placing her hand over her heart, Buffy gasped dramatically, "I am never one to go back on my word." She jumped onto his back to force him into carrying her piggy back style.

"Oh, but I have to carry you, huh, sweetheart?" Dean asked as he wrapped his arms around her legs.

"Well, I'm afraid I might get a tick walking in all this tall grass," Buffy giggled into his ear, before sucking on the lobe.

Dean looked at the matted down grass they were walking on. "We wouldn't want that. But what about me?"

"Don't worry, I'll do a real thorough check when we get to our room."

"Promise?" Dean grinned.

"Mm-hmm," Buffy replied as she kissed his neck.

* * *

  
Sam carried Faith up the stairs with her legs wrapped around his waist and their lips locked together. Once in her room, he slipped the straps of her nightie off her shoulders, letting it slide to the floor, revealing Faith's naked body. Faith's hands went to the buttons of Sam's shirt, but he shoved them away. He walked her back to the bed, kissing her the entire way. When Faith fell onto the bed, Sam leaned over her, to continue kissing his way down her body. He gripped her by the back of the knees and pulled her to the edge of the bed. He dropped to his knees, between her legs, he met her eyes with the smile of a predator, making Faith's heart race. His mouth worked its way up, kissing and sucking her flesh from her knee to her center. When he finished with one leg, he went to work on the other. "Sam," Faith's moan was a mix of growl and purr.

When his mouth made the final journey to her center, Faith arched off the bed. Then his tongue dipped inside her, and her hips began to move against his lips, as her pleasure increased with each twirl of his tongue. Faith came apart as Sam thrust his tongue inside her. At the sound of her near shriek, Sam knew he actually lived up to her 'mind blowing' comment. Faith looked up at him, panting. "Sammy, you are such an over achiever."

Sam smirked, "I try."

Faith pushed herself up. Her fingers made quick work of his shirt. "My turn."

* * *

  
Dean took his time undressing Buffy, kissing every inch of skin he uncovered. Buffy pulled off Dean's henley and performed the same slow exploration of his body as he had done to her. Dean's heart was pounding in his chest, just as Buffy's was. Laying her gently on the bed, Dean maneuvered over her, resting his weight on his forearms. His eyes, dark with desire, seemed to worship every inch of her.

Buffy felt dizzy from the weight of his gaze. Her hands caressed his face, and her lips met his in a kiss that made Buffy melt. By the time Dean entered her, Buffy wasn't on the same planet. Dean took his time with this as well. Building their passion slowly, until he was sure Buffy was close to the edge, then he allowed himself to get lost in the sensation of Buffy climaxing around him.

* * *

  
Faith sat up in bed with a hand over her mouth to stifle her scream. The dream was so intense, she woke covered in sweat, her heart racing. She looked down at Sam, terrified. Flashes of her dream replayed in her mind. A small blonde girl was torturing a family, demons were possessing an entire neighborhood, Buffy lay on the ground bleeding, Sam kissing Ruby as hellhounds tore Dean to shreds and Dean yelled, 'It's Lillith!'.

"Oh, hell no. That's not happening on my watch." She looked at the clock, she could call London now.

* * *

  
The morning found Dean wrapped around Buffy. She nestled into his arms sighing happily. I could get used to this, she thought. She opened her eye enough to check the time and smiled upon seeing she had over an hour to enjoy being in his arms.

She wondered about that necklace he wore and about the scar on his left side. She thought she could ask more about him on their drive home. At that moment, what she fully realized was, that she was definitely not falling for this guy. No way. Not falling for hot guy with great body, who makes me feel all kinds of wonderful, she thought to herself. Squeezing her eyes shut she sighed, who was she kidding; he does one more sweet thing and it's all over. I'll be head over heels for some guy that I'll probably never see again, she thought sadly. He's going to go off on a hunt, I've got my slayer duties, this sucks. She whined audibly.

"Buffy?" Dean whispered hoarsely, "you alright?" He dragged a finger over her cheek, then brushed her hair back.

She snuggled closer to him. "Yeah," she whispered. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Dean lifted his head, checked the clock, kissed her cheek and lay his head back on the pillow. "It's early. Did you want to get up?"

Snuggling back into his embrace. "No"

"Good, cuz I could stay like this for days." Dean tightened his hold on her.

Buffy smiled. "Me, too," she whispered.

* * *

  
"Are you sure, Faith?" Giles pinched the bridge of his nose. "The demon from your dream was Lillith?"

"Yeah, Giles. Lillith and Ruby. Why, what's it mean?" Faith did not like the worried tone she heard in Giles' voice.

Giles shut the book before him. "It means I'm taking the next flight to Cleveland."

* * *

  
Buffy woke up to an empty bed and the sound of water running. Sighing happily, she walked to the bathroom.

"Checking up on me?" Dean asked with a smirk as she pulled the shower curtain back.

"Wanted to see if you could multitask," Buffy replied as she let her eyes roam over his body.

Dean's eyebrow quirked and his smirk grew into a grin. His eyes drank her in. "Damn, Buffy, we're gonna need to play hooky for another day, at least."

Buffy bit her lip and looked at him playfully as he pulled her into the shower.

* * *

  
When Sam woke, the room was still dark, but the bed was empty. Looking at the clock, he was startled to see how late it was. Faith's blackout shades really keep the light out, he thought. As he padded from the room, he heard strange noises coming from the floor below.

Following the sound to a gym in Buffy's basement, Sam found Faith working a body bag with such intensity that his mouth fell open.

Faith saw Sam and ended the assault on the bag with a round house kick. She picked up a towel and wiped her face. With a glare she demanded, "Tell me everything you know about Lillith and Ruby."

Taken aback Sam stuttered, "Wh why?"

"Because I'm asking." Faith brushed passed him and jogged up the stairs.

Once settled in the kitchen, Sam began, "Ruby's a demon that appeared last spring with a knife that killed demons. She saved my life and ever since has been helping me and Dean. Mostly helping us find a way out of his deal."

"She always the blonde?" Faith was all business and Sam was shocked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"What about Lillith? What can you tell me about her?"

Sam slumped back in the chair and sighed heavily. "Well, uh, according to Ruby, she's a high powered demon that wants my head on a platter."

Faith only raised a brow at that. She poured herself a glass of juice. "So both you and Dean have demons after you."

Sam shrugged, "Yeah. I guess."

Faith took a minute to study Sam. He didn't seem to hold anything back from her, so she felt inclined to believe him. "I called a guy we used to work for. He's coming in from London later." Sam's mouth fell open in shock. "He seems pretty convinced that Lillith is the new big bad we've got to put down." She cracked her neck. "I'm gonna hit the shower. Then you can tell me all about the job you were researching last night and how Ruby fits in to all of this." Sam sat silently as Faith left the kitchen.

* * *

  
A smile covered Dean's face as Buffy sang, " _All the vampires walking through the valley, move west down Ventura Boulevard. All the bad boys are standing in the shadows, all the good girls are home with broken hearts. And I'm free free fallin. Yeah, I'm free free fallin'._ "

While she sang, Dean made a show of looking for something, "Hey, babe?" he asked as he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Yeah?"

"What'd you do with the money?"

Buffy looked at him with question on her face, "What money?"

"The money your mom gave you for singing lessons?" Dean flinched readying himself for the hit he knew was coming.

Sure enough, smack on the arm. "Jerk, I hope you're not this mean to Sam all the time."

Dean laughed. "I'm way worse to Sam." He grabbed her hand again. "Believe me, you're much better to look at and you smell a helluvalot better, too."

Buffy smiled, and continued to sing, even louder. Then, Dean joined her, just as loud, and slightly off key. " _Gonna free fall, out into nothing, gonna leave this world for a while. And I'm free free fallin. Yeah, I'm free free fallin'._ "

When they got to Cleveland, Buffy felt forced to warn Dean. "You know, uh, Faith is gonna tease us relentlessly about 'playing hooky'."

"Us?" Dean asked surprised. "You mean you. I'm outta here the second I grab Sam." He looked at Buffy from the corner of his eye and watched her expression drop.

"Oh. Right. You've got that meeting," Buffy said trying her hardest not to sound as disappointed as she was feeling.

"Babe, I'm kidding. Sam and I aren't in a hurry to go anywhere."

"Dean, it's okay, You guys have a job to do…"

"Not getting rid of me that easily, Buffy. Besides, why should Faith tease us? Wasn't she playing with Sam while we were gone?"

Buffy shrugged, happy Dean wasn't leaving immediately.

"Well if she wasn't, my brother and I have to have a serious talk."

As they pulled up to her driveway, Buffy groaned, "Well, they're here." She looked over at Dean, "S'pose you're gonna drop me off, grab Sam, and run like hell, huh?"

Dean chuckled, "No, I can face the music with you." He smirked at her, "If Faith starts in on us, I'll just start rippin' your clothes off, right in front of them," Buffy gasped, "We'll see who leaves the room first." Buffy shook her head and laughed as Dean wagged his brows at her.

"So, you're saying the urban legend isn't just an urban legend this time?" Faith confirmed.

"Right. Those fingerprints the police found match a guy who died in 1981," Sam added.

Faith narrowed her eyes. "Really? So, what are we talking? Uh, walking dead? Walking, killing dead?"

Sam shrugged, "Maybe." He turned away from Faith.

That action made Faith realize Sam was keeping something from her. "Yeah, zombies do like the other, "other white meat". Huh. Mmm. Speaking of, what do you care about zombies?"

Sam spun around, "What do you mean? Killin' the bad guys is our job."

Faith continued, "Well, you've been on soul-saving detail, and we're three weeks out, and all of a sudden you're interested in some hot zombie action?"

"Faith, ---"

As they approached the front door, Buffy and Dean exchanged surprised looks when they heard angry voices coming from inside.

"I thought you wanted to save Dean's soul from his deal," Faith exclaimed as Buffy and Dean entered.

"Deal? What deal?" Buffy asked as Dean dropped her bags at her question.

Dean looked over everyone in the room before he turned to his brother and clenched his jaw. "Dammit, Sammy! What part of 'don't get them involved' didn't you understand?" He stood in front of Sam with his fists clenched. Sam's eyes widened at the glare he was receiving and he leaned back.

"Dean, what deal?" Buffy asked him, but he looked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a/n: a couple lines stolen from the spn episode "Time is on my Side"
> 
> Ticks is by Brad Paisley
> 
> Free Falling is by Tom Petty


	5. Chapter 5

"I thought you wanted to save Dean's soul from his deal," Faith exclaimed as Buffy and Dean entered.

"Deal? What deal?" she asked as Dean dropped her bags at her question.

Dean took a fleeting look at everyone in the room before he turned to his brother and clenched his jaw. "Dammit, Sammy! What part of 'don't get them involved' didn't you understand?" He stood in front of Sam with his fists clenched. Sam's eyes widened at the glare he was receiving and he leaned back.

"Dean, what deal?" Buffy asked him.

Dean sighed and turned to Buffy. "I made a deal with a crossroads demon. I got Sam back and they gave me a year." He swallowed, "I've got just less than a month before the hell hounds…" Before she could ask, Dean continued, "I had to. Sam went and got himself killed by some kid controlled by a demon. I had to. I had to get him back."

Buffy closed her eyes. She felt as if someone had pulled the rug out from under her. When she had regained control, "If you break the deal?"

"Sam dies."

"Oh," Buffy spoke quietly and looking away from him. After a moment, Buffy nodded and stepped away from them, her mind reeling.

Dean looked down, taking her silence to mean he was dismissed. "Well, anyway, Sam, I got a lead on Bela…"

"What?" Faith interjected. "You've got less than a month and you're looking to work some lead on a case?" She turned to Sam, "And you want to go hunt up some zombies?!" Dean looked at his brother with interest. "No, we're taking care of this deal, first. After what the crossroads demon told us, I'm putting my money on…"

"You went to a demon?" Dean asked not caring to hide his shock.

Faith was getting irritated at the interruptions. "Look, we needed information, we got it. The demon that holds your contract is higher up the pay grade than a crossroads demon. And like I said, I'm betting on Ruby or Lilith."

Both Winchesters were stunned at her announcement. "Ruby? No way, she's been helping us," Sam said in defense.

Dean and Faith, both, looked at him, shocked by his naiveté. "Sam, Ruby makes perfect sense. She's just been stringing us along. Telling you what you want to hear. She told me there was no saving me from the pit." Dean watched his brother absorb what he had been saying.

"But she saved your life," Sam argued.

"To gain your trust, Sam," Dean contended. "Why do you think she hasn't found a way out of my contract? She doesn't want one." Dean dragged a hand over his face and took a step back.

"But there's also Lilith," Faith reiterated. "She's a contender in this, too."

"Lilith?" Buffy asked quietly as if the name meant something to her.

"Yeah, I had a dream and Lilith was the one sicking the dogs on you," Faith said to Dean.

Dean stared blankly at Faith for a moment. "A dream? You have freaky psychic dreams, too?" He looked at Sam with a smirk. "Well, you two really are perfect for each other, aren't you?"

Faith looked at Sam questioningly, but Sam shook his head, "I don't have psychic dreams anymore, Dean." He looked at Faith, "You dreamt about Dean's deal?"

"It's not a psychic dream it's a slayer dream," Buffy explained.

"Slayer dreams are powerful," Faith continued, "They're helpful against the bad guys. The dreams usually have clues in them to help us understand what's happening."

Buffy looked up at Faith. "What happened in your dream?" she asked quietly, not looking at the others in the room.

Faith looked at Dean for a second before sitting down. "It didn't give me much to go on. There's a neighborhood that's nearly completely possessed. A demon is possessing a little girl --"

"That's Lilith's M.O." Dean interrupted.

Faith nodded. "Yeah, she's the girl, but then," Faith made a face at the memory. "Ruby's kissing Sam and you're calling her Lilith, and the hell hounds are about to chow down."

"Ew, dude. Kissing demons?" Dean looked at his brother in disgust.

"It was a dream Dean. Not gonna happen. I am not kissing Ruby or Lilith. And no hell hounds are turning you into their chew toy," Sam said forcibly.

"Lilith?" Buffy asked again, quietly. "I know that name from somewhere."

"Yeah, so did Giles. He's on his way from London as soon as he gets a flight," Faith informed her.

"You called Giles?" Buffy's brows shot up.

"Yeah, and Willow. Andrew's been looking stuff up, but all he got us was the location of the big deal maker demon in the cross roads division."

"What'd Willow say?" Buffy asked. While Sam and Dean looked at them, wondering just who and what they were talking about.

"She's coming over with stuff to make protection charms," Faith replied.

Buffy nodded slowly. "Call her. Have her meet us at head quarters. I'm gonna clean up. Then we'll head over." She walked out of the room without so much as a glance at the Winchesters.

Dean watched her leave and felt sick. She couldn't even look at him. "Uh, Faith," he cleared his throat, "thanks and all, but, we should head out."

"What? No," Sam and Faith said in unison.

Dean huffed, "Bobby gave me a real, concrete lead on Bela and you've got some zombie hunt."

"Dean, these people have more resources than we've ever imagined," Sam argued.

Dean took a moment to compose himself, then he looked at Faith. "Faith, I appreciate your help, I really do. But, Lilith destroys everything she touches." He saw that Faith was about to argue so he continued, "If something happened to you and your merry bunch of slayers 'cause of me," he shook his head, "it wouldn't be right. I'm gonna go find that bitch Bela and get the Colt. Sam, are you with me? It's cool if you want to stay." Dean looked at Faith, briefly before continuing. "Ya don't find girls like her everyday," he said with a nod in Faith's direction.

Their decision had to wait as Willow chose that moment to fumble her way into Buffy's house. "Hello?" she called as she held the door open with her foot because her arms were busy with two large bags. The door shut on her foot, causing her to trip and drop her bags. Sam and Dean instantly began to help picking up the items she dropped. "Oh, hi, you must be Sam and Dean," She smiled brightly.

Sam returned her smile, "I'm Sam, this is Dean."

Willow paused looking up at Sam then her gaze took in Dean. "You two don't have a sister do you?"

"No," they answered at the same time.

"That's too bad," Willow said smiling slyly.

Faith chuckled, catching Willow's intention, and shook her head, "Willow."

Willow shrugged smiling. "Can you blame me?" she whispered to Faith.

"Told you they'd make you wanna play for the other team," Faith whispered back. Sam and Dean still looked lost.

"What is all this stuff?" Sam asked.

"Well, it's all the stuff I need to make protection charms," Willow answered taking the bag from Dean. "I didn't know how powerful I had to make them, so I got lots of stuff."

"Thanks," Dean said with a tight smile.

"No problem," she smiled sweetly at him. The her eyes widened, "It's for you? You're the one that made the deal, that needs the charms?"

"Yeah," Dean grumbled.

"Will they work against hell hounds?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I think I can swing that. Oh, hey, Buffy," Willow greeted her friend who just reentered the room.

"I thought we were gonna meet at head quarters," Buffy stated calmly.

"Yeah," Faith answered, "but Red showed before I had a chance to call her."

 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They took two cars the short distance to the nondescript building that served as a training facility, meeting room and library for the slayers. Xander, Keisha and Andrew met them in the library. Everyone wore serious expressions. Andrew, however, was bouncing with the need to share the information he uncovered about Ruby.

Once everyone had settled into a seat, he began, "Okay, so this Ruby demon is really old. In the late 1500's she was a powerful witch in Prague. She had the power to conjure demons and make them do her bidding." He looked poignantly at the Winchester's, "So, it's a good bet that she took the contract from the crossroads demon." The brothers exchanged looks and Andrew went on. "She was finally put down by the town she was tormenting with the help of a slayer and the town's preacher. However, she stole a special weapon from the slayer and hid it before she was burned at the stake."

"Her knife," Sam said not hiding his excitement.

"Yes," Andrew said happy that Sam shared his enthusiasm, "the weapon was a special knife that could kill demons."

Dean slumped back in his seat. With a bitter shake of his head he added, "And we've been trusting this witch turned demon for months now. Smart."

Sam shook his head, and looked at Faith. He wondered if Ruby had known that Faith was a slayer. Had he put Faith in danger just for being with him? He pinched the bridge of his nose and scrunched up his face. "Well, at least she doesn't know we're on to her."

"She might not hold the contract. There's still Lilith," Faith reminded them.

Willow perked up at the sound of the demon's name. She had been sorting her charm making ingredients. "Did you say Lilith?"

"Yeah, where have I heard that name before?" Buffy asked as she straightened the leather cords Willow was going to use.

Willow looked around the room. "Yeah, I've heard it, too I, uh, think I should look something up first." She turned to Buffy, "Can you get started on these? Here's the order in which to add the ingredients." Willow handed her a paper and walked over to the book shelf.

Faith watched Willow walk to the books then studied Buffy's unemotional assembly of the charms. Then she turned to Xander and Andrew. "In my dream, Lilith was in a suburb possessing a small girl and the whole neighborhood was possessed. Is there any way we can work with that?"

Keisha nodded, "Yes, of course. Let's start looking for omens. A whole town being possessed has got to leave some sort of sign."

Xander nodded, too. "Yeah, it's a start, even if it's weeks away from the deal's due date, there could be a sign." Xander and Keisha began looking at a computer screen.

Sam punched Dean lightly on the arm, "See, man," he whispered, "I told you these guys could help."

Dean had been watching Buffy. She hadn't looked at him once since she heard about the deal. "Yeah, Sammy," he replies distractedly, "I'll be right back."

Dean walked over to the table where Buffy was putting together the charms. "Can I talk to you?"

Buffy stopped working to look at him with a raised brow, "Okay," she mumbled with an eye roll. She kept working on the charms and waited for Dean to begin.

However, Willow walked back over to the table, preventing Dean from saying what he wanted to Buffy. "Hey, uh, Willow, what's this?" he asked holding up a small rolled stick.

Willow smiled, "Cinnamon." Dean's expression showed his surprise. "Well, just 'cause you have to carry around a hex bag, doesn't mean it has to smell bad."

Dean smiled slightly, "Uh, well, thanks, I guess." Then he met Buffy's expectant glare. "Uh, you wanna talk outside for a second?"

Buffy looked at Willow who nodded to her. Buffy gave an even more exaggerated eye roll and answered, "Fine." She walked toward the rear of the room leaving Dean to follow.

 

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Once they were in the small courtyard, Buffy crossed her arms and leaned against the railing looking at Dean expectantly. "Well?"

Dean sighed. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get involved in all this."

Buffy looked blankly at him for a moment. "Didn't want me involved," she repeated. "That's why you didn't tell me about your deal?" It was more of an accusation than a question.

Dean took a deep breath. "I didn't want you to think I was using you. I just wanted to see you. I just wanted to forget about it for a day or two." He bit his lip as he realized he had nothing left to lose.

"That morning, you called from the airport, Sam and I had just gotten into it. The case we'd been working was a bust. I wanted to run down to Tijuana, go an a bender for the next couple weeks." Buffy gave him a skeptical look. "Or even the Grand Canyon, I've never seen it. But, Sam wasn't having it. He's all about getting me out of this deal."

He moved away from her. "But, I know there's no saving me from the pit." Their eyes met for a second then Buffy looked away angrily, Dean shook his head and look down. "Then you call and tell me you're stuck in Memphis." Dean smiled the slightest smile. "And I feel like I won the fuckin' lottery."

He leaned against the rail opposite her and looked at the darkening sky. "There's no reason for you to be calling me," he continued after a minute. "I'm a high school drop out with a criminal record and I live out of my car." He looked at her, "You, you're some kind of super hero in a hot little --," instead of talking, his eyes roam over her for a second. "You have this whole company or school or whatever."

Buffy looked like she was about to say something, but Dean kept talking. "I figure I can see you, check out Graceland, something else I've never seen, and get away from Sam, whose been looking at me like, well, like I killed his puppy or something."

He takes another deep breath. "I know once I leave, Sam's gonna call Faith. Which is cool." He paused, "I've been worried about who's gonna look after him when I'm gone and now I don't have to. He went and found himself a slayer. And the best part is, she makes him happy. Sam hasn't been happy for a long time."

His breath hitched a second, then he went on. "I also knew I was pushing my luck driving you back here. But," he shrugged, "I got greedy. I wanted --" he paused and looked at her. Buffy was staring at the ground. Shifting gears, he went on, "So, like I was saying, you guys shouldn't get involved in this."

Buffy raised her eyes to his. "So, you're just gonna run off and wait to die?"

Dean pressed his lips together. "The guy in Vermont has a line a weapon that was stolen from us. If I can get it, I might be able to even the score a bit." He looked away again. "I'm gonna go down fighting, but chances are, I'm still going down. I don't want any of your people to get hurt because of me. It's not worth it."

Buffy nodded solemnly. She tilted her head and looked up at him. "When you stopped calling, what was I supposed to think?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "think I was an asshole, I guess."

"I can do that," Buffy replied humorously.

Dean pushed himself off the rail. He looked like he was about to say something, but, instead, he walked toward the exit.

"Dean, wait," Buffy begged quietly, making him stop and turn around. "I'm sorry." She paused and calmed herslef. "You're going to hell and I'm acting like you made the deal just to piss me off." She sighed, "I just wish you would have told me."

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry," he ducked his head.

"I get it. I understand dying for family." Buffy searched his face for a moment before looking down at her hands. "I died seven years ago," she continued softly. "Dawn," she paused, her voice had filled with emotion, "A hell god, demon, whatever, was going to kill Dawn, and destroy the world. So, I," she shrugged, "I died in her place."

"She's all I have. Sam's all you have. I guess it's one more thing we have in common." Dean still looked at her in confusion and Buffy reached out a hand to grab one of his. "Our family is our weak spot. I know what I put Dawn through, please don't do that to Sam."

Dean face was covered with confusion. "How--?"

Buffy waved off his question. "Please, Dean, come back inside, let us get people working on this. I know you've got that thing in Vermont, but leave tomorrow. Give us a chance to help." Buffy spoke quickly but her hand gently caressed his face.

Dean stared at her for a moment before taking her hand from his face. Finally, Dean nodded then squeezed her hand. Dean's brows knit together and he shook his head slightly, "The deal--"

"Ends with you going to hell. Does it cover what happens next?" Buffy interrupted, a light going on behind her eyes as her idea formed.

"No," Dean replied, tilting his head, brows pulled together in thought.

"Okay, at least that gives us something to work with," Buffy turned to go back into the building, leaving Dean confused, but following her.

 

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Inside the library, Sam's eyes kept flitting to the door. He couldn't concentrate on the text he was reading. Faith noticed his agitation, "Yeah, she's probably kicking his ass."

Sam looked at her clearly worried. "She's mad, huh?"

Faith rolled her eyes, "Understatement."

Willow heard them and interjected, "She liked Dean. You can't blame her for being upset that he might die." She tried to smile reassuringly as she handed Sam a hex bag. "Here, this protection charm should keep you hidden from demons and the hell hounds."

"Thanks," Sam smiled so genuinely that Willow nearly blushed.

"Sam, what can you tell me about Lilith? Why is she interested in you guys?" Willow asked.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Everything I know about her I got from Ruby, so," he shrugged, "might not be the most reliable intel."

Willow nodded, "Okay, tell me anyway."

"All I know is she's some powerful demon that wants me dead. Sees me as her main adversary in a demon war or something," Sam admitted. "I don't know if she holds Dean's contract or not, but she tried to have us killed before. She had demons possess a whole town and attack us while we sat in jail."

Willow tried not to look worried by what Sam said, but Faith and Xander could see it on her.

"Makes sense she'd hold the contract," Xander added thoughtfully. "If she wants you dead, she may try to bargain with it. Your life for Dean's soul."

The others nodded their agreement, though Sam looked more uncomfortable. He knew he'd be tempted to make that deal.

When Buffy and Dean reentered the library, they approached the others. "We have a Plan B," Buffy announced to shock on everyone's face, including Dean.

"Plan B? We don't even have a Plan A, what are you talking about?!" Sam demanded looking from Dean to Buffy.

Faith punched Sam lightly on the arm. "Plan A is kick the demon's ass," Faith said as if it should have been obvious.

Sam made a face, he didn't appreciate Faith making light of the situation. But Buffy smiled, "Right. Dean says he might be able to get a weapon that can help and we know this Ruby has a knife that will kill demons, so, Plan A: Use the weapons. Kill the demons." She said with an authoritative nod.

"Plan B?" Dean asked.

"Drag you out of hell," Buffy said matter-of-factly.

All the eyes in the room went shockingly wide, especially Dean's. "So, Plan A it is," Dean said after a beat.

"Well, yeah, ideally," Buffy said as she handed him a hex bag. She completely ignored the concerned stares of her friends. "But, you have to get your weapon and we have to take the knife from Ruby." She took a breath, "I'd offer ours, but, recently, we had a small security lapse." She looked pointedly at Andrew. "And our best weapon was stolen by a woman pretending to be a watcher."

Sam and Dean exchanged meaningful expressions. Dean turned to Andrew. "This woman, what'd she look like?"

Andrew looked sheepishly at the others. "Well, she was pretty. Beautiful eyes, flowing brown hair."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Alright, what was her name?"

"Mena Chandler. She had credentials," Andrew stated defensively.

"Bela," Sam and Dean said together. "She's used that alias before," Sam added.

Dean squinted. "That's the name the guy in Vermont said she used." He dragged a hand over his face, then looked at Buffy. "That's why he wanted to meet you."

"What? You never told me that," Buffy said with a puzzled look.

"I didn't know what the guy wanted. I wasn't gonna just hand you over to him," Dean confessed.

Buffy looked at him, then shook her head condescendingly. Part of her thought it was sweet he had tried to protect her, the other part wanted to laugh at him for it. "I guess we both go to Vermont tomorrow."

Dean tried to ignore the pang of hope he felt when she said that. The feeling had nothing to do with his deal.

 

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A ringing phone took Andrew from the room momentarily, but he soon returned with a headset and a small speaker that he placed on the table. "Okay, Mr. Giles, I put you on speaker phone," he said into the speaker. "We can all hear you, now."

"Hello?" Giles voice echoed in the room.

"Hey, G-man, how's it goin'?" Xander asked jovially.

"Hello, Xander. Is everyone there? Faith? Willow? Buffy?" Giles voiced boomed.

"Yeah, we're all here Giles?" Buffy answered.

"Good. Well, I'm not able to get a flight out of London for a few days. But Faith's dream is too important to wait that long."

"Why, what's up?" Faith asked.

"Well," Giles paused. "The demon you dreamt about. It called itself Lilith?"

"Yeah, one was Lilith, the other was Ruby. We don't know which one holds Dean's contract," Faith confirmed.

"Well, I don't know about this Ruby, but I do know Lilith," Giles said quietly.

"I know that name," Buffy said again.

Willow spoke up, "Giles? Is Lilith who I think she is?" All eyes in the room focused on her.

"Yes, Willow. Lilith is another name for the First," Giles answered affirming her worst fear. His words had a sobering effect on the room.

The only one unaware of what Giles was talking about was Dean. However, he could tell the man's words terrified the others. "The First?"

"The first evil," Buffy answered calmly.

"The reason Sunnydale is a crater," Sam told his brother.

"Oh, hell no," Dean began, his face growing pale.


	6. Chapter 6

Willow spoke up, "Giles? Is Lilith who I think she is?" All eyes in the room focused on her.

"Yes, Willow. Lilith is another name for the First," Giles answered affirming her worst fear. His words had a sobering effect on the room.

The only one unaware of what Giles was talking about was Dean. However, he could tell the man's words terrified the others. "The First?"

"The first evil," Buffy answered calmly.

"The reason Sunnydale is a crater," Sam told his brother.

"Oh, hell no," Dean began, his face growing pale.

"How is it possible that Lilith is even walking around? I sealed her in the hell mouth," Buffy asked Giles over the speaker phone.

The watcher sighed, "Last spring, a gateway to hell was opened in Wyoming. Several demons escaped, including Lilith." The Winchesters exchanged looks.

"Why is she disguising herself as a little girl?" Xander asked. "She used to go right for the full on mess with your mind."

"No one wants to hurt a little girl," Dean answered. "No one's even going to suspect it's her."

"Good point," Giles admitted. Then he asked, "Who said that?"

"Dean, Sam and Dean Winchester are with us. They may have a lead on Mena Chandler," Buffy answered.

"Oh, uh, excellent," Giles answered. "Mr. Singer has told me much about you. I look forward to working with you. I should be arriving the day after next. We'll talk more then."

 

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Bela had eaten better meals, had tasted better wine, but, in Canaan, Vermont, this place is what passed for a four star restaurant. At this point in the game, Bela felt she deserved the finest, always. As she looked to the waiter to bring the check, she was slightly startled to see a man had joined her.

The man took her bottle of wine and poured the last of it into a glass he snagged from another table. "Dining alone?" he asked before sniffing the wine and tasting it.

Bela raised a brow, un-amused. "Let's not make small talk."

"Life's too short, I agree," the man leered. "I've come to collect."

Bela scanned the restaurant quickly. "I can't hand it over to you here, now can I?"

"But you have it?" the man asked grinning.

"Yes, I have the Colt," she spoke quietly as she dabbed her lips. "Like taking candy from a baby."

"I'm sure the boss will be pleased," he replied. "However, she has one more task for you. Before releasing your contract."

Bela's eyes became indignant. "I have already done everything she asked. I thought a deal --"

The man silenced her with a look. "Not my fault you're a lousy negotiator." He leaned back in his chair. "Give me your purse."

"What?" she hissed quietly.

"Your bag. Give it to me," he instructed with an outstretched hand. Bela relinquished her Prada with a huff. The man, smiled, reached inside and retrieved the Colt. He slipped it into his suit coat causing Bela to utter an outraged gasp.

"Wasn't born yesterday, dearie," the man chuckled. "My boss wants Sam Winchester dead. You do that, the contract will be null and void."

Bela's mouth fell open, but she quickly regained her composure. "Shouldn't be a problem."

"Good." the man patted her hand and left her table.

Bela slumped back in her seat. This wasn't how it was supposed to go down. She hoped she'd be able to spend the rest of her evening without seeing the other demon she'd been working with.

 

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When the conference call with Giles ended, there was still plenty of tension in the room. Keisha didn't know any of them that well, but she knew one thing that always helped. "Well, I don't know about any of you, but I'm starved. Any chance we can order some take out?"

The room resounded in "yes's", all except Andrew. Andrew stuttered for a moment, "Uh, um, well…uh."

"What, Andrew?" Faith asked in annoyance.

"Well, you see. Most places won't deliver here. Too many, uh, problems. So, uh," he stammered.

"Fine," Dean answered. "Just tell me what you all want and where I should get it and me and the," he paused before nearly calling Andrew a twinkie, "kid here, will get it."

Andrew beamed, surprised at the invitation to go with the hunter. Sam just raised his brows in surprise, knowing his brother was up to something.

On their way to the Double Happiness Chinese Restaurant, Dean grilled the eager Andrew for information. "So, uh, Andrew, were you with Buffy and the gang when they faced the First last time?"

"Yeah. It was awesome. And scary. Mostly scary," Andrew admitted. "I helped with the training of the potentials…." He proceeded to tell Dean the entire tale, only embellishing his own bravery once or twice.

After learning that Willow was the witch responsible for changing the Slayer mythology forever by turning the potentials into full Slayers, Dean was compelled to say, "I've never met a 'Glenda'. All the witches I've ever met have been evil bitches. Actual killers, ya know?"

Andrew nodded. "Oh, Willow was plenty evil. She got super powerful after raising Buffy from the dead. And then, after her girlfriend got killed, she went on uber-witch psycho killer rampage. Total dark side," Andrew added feeling authoritative for knowing the history.

"Huh," Dean wasn't sure what to think.

"She flayed my best friend, then she came after me, but Buffy saved me. That's how me and Buffy became close."

Dean's brows shot up, but then he nodded slowly taking in what Andrew said. "Willow hasn't been evil for a while, right?"

"Oh no, not for ages, thank god. I wouldn't want her to come after me ever again," Andrew admitted. "Xander talked her down and she got help. After all, the battle with the First was after that. She's all good now. Powerful, but total Glenda."

"Yeah, seems like someone you'd want on your side in a fight," Dean replied. Then he braved asking what had peeked curiosity the most, "So, what do you know about raising Buffy from the dead? That seems .."

"Intense?" Andrew offered. "I wasn't there, I don't know, but I heard she had to claw her way out of her grave." He shuddered and made a face.

Dean balked when he heard that. He didn't want to think about Buffy being dead, let alone digging herself out of a grave.

"Ooh," Andrew cooed, "are these Elvis glasses?" He went to slide the pair of sunglasses off the visor.

"Don't touch those" Dean snapped.

Andrew's hand flew back to his side.

 

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The moment Dean left, Xander turned to Buffy. "Your Plan B sucks."

Buffy nodded in agreement, "It's not ideal, but--"

"Buffy, I don't want the guy going to hell, but," Xander lowered his voice to a harsh whisper, "bringing you back, harnessing that kind of power, pushed Willow close to the dark magic."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Xander," she sighed, "I've done far more powerful spells since and not gone 'dark'."

Xander sighed, he knew that was true, it was also the least of his fears. Turning to Buffy, he asked, "I know you like the guy, but is he worth risking everything to fight the first, again?"

"How I feel or don't feel about him doesn't matter," Buffy began feeling defensive. "It's my job, it's our job."

"Yeah, I know," Xander muttered as he stalked off.

Buffy huffed as she watched him walk away. She hated arguing with Xander about anything. Willow judged Buffy's expression and knew she was frustrated. "Xander lost a lot the last time." Buffy looked up at her. "He's probably just worried about it happening again." She looked over at Keisha to emphasize her point.

Buffy rested her head in her hand and sighed heavily. She didn't want anyone to lose anyone or anything, either.

 

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Sam felt Faith's eyes on him. For most of the night, she had stayed close to him, watching him. He wasn't sure why, but he thought it might have had something to do with the argument they had when Buffy and Dean arrived home. Now, he wasn't sure how to explain his 'zombie' case in Pennsylvania to Faith or Dean so that they'd understand how important it was.

Faith took a seat next to him. "See, Sam, I told you we could help," she said with a hopeful look into his eyes.

Sam gave a small smile, "Yeah, you did. And you were right." He bumped her arm. "Not crazy about Plan B, though."

Faith chuckled, "Yeah, well, don't worry, it won't come to that." She looked at her hands, for a moment. She was sure Sam had been keeping something from her earlier, but so much had happened, she didn't know if she should bring it up.

"Faith," Sam spoke in a near whisper, "I'm going with Dean tomorrow."

Faith's eyes widened and she nodded. She knew he wasn't going to hang around forever.

"I'm going to have him drop me off in Eerie."

Faith was shocked. "The zombie case?" she asked too loudly.

Sam looked around but the others seemed wrapped up in their own conversations. "I don't think it's just a zombie case." Faith narrowed her eyes in interest. "I think it might be a way to save Dean," Sam whispered.

"Really? How?" Faith whispered back.

"I don't know yet. I mean, I'm not sure." He took her hand. "I won't know until I get there. But my dad's journal mentioned a similar case and I gotta see if it can help Dean."

Faith felt grateful Sam had taken her hand. She relaxed knowing that he trusted her. "Sam, I'll go with you."

Sam's face lit up, "You will?"

Faith beamed at him. "That's why you wanted to work that case, huh? You think it'll help Dean."

Sam nodded. "Dean's afraid if he breaks the deal, I'll die. This case, I think, might have a way around that."

Faith nodded, "Okay. How are you gonna convince Dean?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. I was thinking maybe playing the 'last case from Dad's journal' card." He looked at her to judge her reaction.

Faith made a face. "Yesh, kinda low, Sam." Sam sighed in frustration. "It'd probably work, though," she admitted making Sam look hopeful.

 

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With her head in her hand, Buffy looked drained. Willow pouted as she considered her friend, "Are you all right, Buffy?"

"No, not remotely," she looked up at her best friend. "Will, why is it every time I like a guy, there's something wrong with him?"

Willow pulled out a chair to join her. "What's wrong with Dean?"

Buffy looked at her in shock, "Going to hell."

"Because he loves his brother. Says a lot about what he's willing to do for those he loves," Willow argued.

Buffy gave her a skeptical look.

"Like drive from Memphis to Cleveland," Willow added.

Buffy scoffed, "That wasn't about love. That was more about getting -" She was interrupted by Keisha plopping into the chair next to her.

"Oh my god. This is all so romantic I could die," Keisha dramatically whispered .

Buffy raised her brow, "What is?"

"You and Dean!" Keisha whispered looking at Buffy then Willow as if it should have been obvious. "I can't get Xander to let me keep a toothbrush at his place. Dean, on the other hand, chooses to drive you home from Memphis!" Keisha sighed, but Buffy shook her head. Keisha ignored her and went on, "It's too bad Sam ruined it by telling you about Dean's deal.." Her eyes go wide when she realized what she said, "I mean it's good 'cause we can save him, but," she shrugged.

"But what?" Buffy asked amused by Keisha's take on the situation.

"Just think, Dean wanted what could be his last memories to be about you and making you happy, agh!" she whined and collapsed onto the table. "I'd be happy with a place for my toothbrush."

Buffy felt herself beginning to blush but she shook her head. "It's not like that, trust me." She couldn't believe Dean would care that much for her. When she saw how Willow was smirking at her, Buffy added emphatically, "Really, it's not." Willow's raised brow showed her disbelief.

 

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When Dean and Andrew finally returned, Dean's eyes swept the room, easing when he saw Sam talking to Faith. Then he searched out Buffy. Meeting her eyes, he was surprised to notice they had lost the angry glint they had earlier. She almost seemed to be smiling at him. Though Dean smiled back, he felt off balance.

As they finished the meal, Dean leaned over to Sam to whisper, "Hey, we're leaving at 7am, so I'll pick you up…" Dean stopped himself when he saw the look on Sam's face. "What?"

"I'm not going with you, exactly," Sam said then bit his lip.

"What?" he glanced at Faith, whose eyes were on Sam. "Oh, right. Uh, okay. I'll see you when I get back, I guess." He hid his disappointment from them.

Sam saw his brother's eyes cut to Faith and he shook his head. "Dean, Faith and I are going to Pennsylvania. There's a case."

Dean squinted, "Right, zombies. Like we don't have enough going on." He rolled his eyes and leaned back. He was about to push himself out of the chair, when Sam stopped him.

"Dean, it's not just zombies," Sam looked to Faith who tried to nod encouragingly. "I think it's Dr. Benton."

Dean narrowed his eyes at the name. "Didn't Dad take care of…"

"That's just it," Sam interrupted excitedly. "I don't think he did. I think Benton is at it again." Dean nodded slowly. "I was thinking, why not finish up some unfinished Winchester business."

Dean leaned back taking in his brother's enthusiasm for the case. "Unfinished family business, eh?"

"We'll do the research, make sure it's him, find where he's set up shop. Then, when you get there, you and me will take him out," Sam concluded seeming as excited as a kid.

"Okay, Sammy, sounds like a plan," Dean answered, hiding the displeasure he felt with a smirk. "I guess I'll see you later." He rose to leave.

Buffy chose that moment to join them. "Did you say something about leaving?"

"Yeah," Dean looked down and cleared his throat. "You know, Buffy, you don't have to go with me, tomorrow." Buffy's eyes snapped to Dean's face, Sam and Faith looked equally uncomfortable. He tilted his head as he looked at her, "I mean, Andy said there's bunch of other slayers here. The guy wanted to meet one. Doesn't mean it has to be you." Dean headed for the door.

Buffy followed him. "What? When I've almost got all of "Back in Black" side one memorized? I think not," she smirked. Dean blinked at her reply. "And I don't want to miss my chance at memorizing the lyrics to 'Enter Sandman' or that Judas Priest tape you've got."

Dean rolled his eyes at her joke, "Buffy, I'm serious. You just got back from your trip to L.A.. Then we, uh, -- I'm sure you have more important things to do than another road trip with me."

Buffy paused when she saw his serious expression. "Dean, I'm going because this guy might know how to get my scythe back. My scythe. To. Kill. Lilith."

Dean nodded, "'kay." He continued towards the door.

Buffy stepped up to him, "Spending more time with you is just a bonus." She put her arm through his and rested her head on his arm as they walked towards the door.

Dean dragged a hand over his face and stopped. He pulled his arm from her, "An hour ago you could barely stand to look at me. Now you want to drive eight hours with me, I don't --"

"Look, yes, I was angry. But you explained why you did it and I'm over it," Buffy replied though Dean's expression told her he didn't believe her. She sighed, "Okay, I'm still a little annoyed. I wish you would have told me about the deal." She looked into his eyes, "But, I thought, I could spend the next three weeks miserable and angry or I could spend the next three weeks with you."

Dean nodded slightly, despite the fact that he didn't believe for a second that he'd been forgiven or she'd gotten over it.

 

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The following afternoon found Dean on a rickety porch in Canaan, Vermont. After ringing the bell and pounding on the door, he was greeted with a gruff, "What?"

"Ah, I'm Dean Winchester, I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's," Dean replied.

"So?"

"You told Bobby about a British chick making contact with you. Could you tell me where I could find her?" Dean asked the door since the owner of the voice hadn't opened it, yet.

"No."

"Course not," Dean muttered to himself. "Look man--" The door opened, cutting Dean's remark off. "Don't look man me. I'm not your man."

Dean looked abashed, "Sorry, sir. But if you could help me --"

"Do I look like I wanna help you?" Rufus asked brusquely.

Dean swallowed, "I'm gonna say no."

Buffy moved to stand next to Dean, allowing Rufus to see her for the first time. "Could you help me?" she asked with a coy tilt of her head. "I've got this bottle of scotch, is this any good?"

Rufus' eyes lit up at the sight of Buffy and the bottle. He held the door open wider to usher them in.

As they sat around his kitchen table, Rufus poured each of them a glass of the scotch. He placed a folder on the table and slid it towards Buffy. "This is the information I have on that chick."

Buffy smiled genuinely at him, "Thank you, Mr. Turner."

Rufus smiled warmly, "Call me Rufus."

Dean shifted in his seat, "So, uh, Rufus--"

"Didn't say you could call me Rufus."

Dean blinked, "Right, Mr. Turner, about Bela. If you could tell me, us, where she is."

He studied Dean for a moment. "No pea-shooter gonna save you, kid," Rufus said before taking a sip.

Buffy and Dean exchanged looks, "What makes you so sure?" Dean asked surprised Rufus Turner knew of the Colt.

Rufus shook his head sadly, "Cuz that's the job kid. Even if you managed to scrape out of this one, there's just gonna be something else down the road. Folks like us, there ain't no happy endin'. We all got it comin'."

"Well, aint you a bucket of sunshine?" Dean smirked.

Rufus shook his head and turned to Buffy. "Miss, she's got your fancy weapon, too."

Buffy leaned toward him, "Please, where is she keeping it?"

"She's got it a storage facility I'm renting to her. It's covered in wards. Plenty of people want to get their hands on that blade. Not just people, either, demons do, too."

Dean was getting impatient, but Buffy remained calm and repeated her question, "Where is she?"

Rufus smiled, then handed her a scrap of paper. "She's still there. She hasn't returned to the storage, yet, so I know she's still in town."

"Thank you, Mr. Turner," Buffy said with gratitude as she and Dean rose to leave.

 

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Faith tugged at her skirt for the millionth time. "I look like a librarian," she muttered through her gritted teeth.

Sam looked her over, appreciating the way the skirt clung to her backside. "A hot librarian," he whispered.

She glared at him, "You are so making this up to me." They followed the coroner into the morgue. "Were there any strange marks where the liver was ripped out?"

Sam was still grinning when the coroner turned to him. "The liver was not ripped out," the coroner announced as Sam, Faith and the coroner moved to the fridges, and the coroner opened one of the drawers and slid the body of out. "It was removed. Surgically. By someone who knew their way around a scalpel. Didn't you read my report?"

Faith nodded, "Of course we did. Oh, it was uh, it was riveting. It's a real page turner. Just delightful."

Faith's response made the coroner's eye's roll. "Get out. Get out, now."

Faith and Sam quickly made their way out, Faith, though, was trying not to laugh. Sam, on the other hand, was irritated. He'd been hoping to get more information.

Faith paced in the hotel room. She had told Sam that research was not her thing, yet here they where researching. Sam looked up from the pages of his dad's journal, "According to this, Benton's picky about where he sets up his lab. He likes dense forest with access to a river or stream or some kind of fresh water."

Faith tilted her head, "Why?"

Sam made a face, "Because that's where he likes to dump the bile, and intestines, and fecal matter."

"Gross, I so did not need to hear that," Faith groaned. She pulled out a map they were looking at earlier. "Didn't you find something like that?"

Sam's face brightened, "Yeah." He looked over her shoulder at the map. "These are all old hunting cabins." He said pointing at the map. "They've mostly been abandoned for years."

Faith turned to him beaming, "Then what the hell are we waiting for?"

 

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Bela locked the hotel room door, only to be pinned to the wall by Dean. His eyes narrowed and his gun leveled at her rib cage he hissed, "Where is it?"

"It's gone. Long gone. Sold it ages ago," Bela smirked at him. Dean cocked the gun he's holding. "Going to kill me, Dean?"

"Yeah," he snarled. Buffy's eyes widened, but she hid her shock.

"You're not a cold blooded killer, Dean," Bela said coolly.

Suddenly Buffy stepped forward. "Abby here has her own problems, Dean."

Bela quickly recovered from hearing her real name. She also hid her shock at seeing Buffy when she's been expecting Sam. With her face showing disgust, she turned to Dean. "Really, Dean. Please tell me you didn't try to impress this tramp by bringing her on a job." Dean answered with a back hand across her face.

Buffy ignored Bela's gasp, and put her hand on his shoulder. "It was ten years ago today her parents died."

"You mean she killed them," Dean said stepping back from Bela.

They both leaned menacingly towards Bela. "No, Bela, I mean Abby, had a demon do it. Didn't you? You have a deal that's come due."

"How do you know?" Bela didn't disguise her shock.

Dean backed away from her shaking his head. "We could have helped you. Not that I would want to, but Sammy would. But, you took our only hope, our only weapon, and sold it to the highest bidder."

"My scythe. What did you do with it? Is it still in the storage?"

"You're a slayer?"

"She's THE slayer. Now, the scythe. Or did you sell that, too?"

Bela glared momentarily, then cast her eyes down feigning tears. "It's gone, too."

Buffy sighed in frustration and stepped towards the door. When she did, she saw an herb pinned above the door. "Dean, give her a bag."

Dean looked annoyed, but begrudgingly, Dean pulled one of Willow's hex bags from his pocket. "Here, it'll stop the hell hounds. You're still gonna die, but," he shrugged.

Bela took the hex bag and turned it over in her hand.

"So, what was it? The demons said they'd give you your soul for our weapons?" Dean asked.

Bela nodded. "Yes, but then they changed it."

Dean looked irritated. "Color me shocked. Just can't trust a demon, huh?"

Bela looked at the hex bag and then at Dean. "They wanted me to kill Sam." Dean paled, his eyes huge. Bela turned to Buffy, "Your scythe is in the storage container. A demon named Ruby wanted it."

Buffy nodded curtly. "Why are you telling us this?" Dean asked. "What's in it for you?"

Bela shrugged, "Maybe you can kill the bitch that holds our contracts."

Dean and Buffy exchanged looks. "You know who hold my contract?"

Bela nodded, "Lilith."

 

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"Sam!" Faith yelled for the hundredth time. "Sam!" She looked around the wooded area not hearing anything. "How could I lose a sasquatch like him in the woods?" she muttered to herself. "Sam!"

She closed her eyes and listened as carefully as she could. All she could hear was the wind in the leaves and the birds. Taking a deep breath to calm her worries, she decided to focus on one direction at a time. She was rewarded with finding several bent branches. Following that path, she was soon rewarded again. This time with the sound of a cell phone ringing.

In panic, she ran toward the sound. Cursing before she answered it. "Dean?"

"Faith! Hey, we got the scythe and we know who holds my contract." Faith could hear the relief in Dean's voice and hated to ruin it.

"Dean, it's Sam. I've lost him. We're in the woods looking for Doc Benton. Sam's gone."


	7. Chapter 7

Faith shook herself to clear her head. How had she not heard something happen to Sam? How had she not seen anything? Taking a deep breath, she looked for more clues to lead her to Sam. Why was she feeling tired? In frustration, she pulled off her sweatshirt, thinking maybe the chilly air would help revive her. As she went to tie the sweatshirt around her waist, she found a tiny dart in the thick material. "Well, that explains it," Faith thought to herself. "Someone tried to dope me. They must have drugged Sam, too." Examining the area around her again, Faith was able to spot the path used to drag Sam. It seemed the more she moved, the more awake she became.

"Ohmigod, I've survived demons and vampires for years, only to die in a car crash," Buffy thought fearfully as the Impala bulleted down the expressway. She hoped she was hiding her terror from Dean, but she was certain a car that old shouldn't be going that fast. She kept her feet braced on the floor and her one hand gripped the seat.

Dean didn't notice Buffy, had forgotten she was even in the car as he gripped the wheel and kept his foot to the floor. All he could think was, "Sammy, you better not have gotten yourself killed."

Faith crept silently up the steps of the old cabin. Her eyes constantly scanning for anything she could use as a weapon. Noiselessly, she opened the door. She picked up a bottle she thought she could use to cause harm to whatever took Sam and slinked into the next room.

Doctor Benton leaned over Sam, who was strapped to a table. He held a scalpel in his hand, "Relax, this isn't going to hurt a bit."

"On the contrary, this is gonna hurt a lot," Faith retorted as she cracked the bottle over the doctor's head. When he collapsed onto Sam, Faith picked him up and threw him into some chairs across the room.

"Faith?" Sam croaked. "Faith?"

"Yeah, baby, it's me. I'm gonna get you out of here," Faith answered pulling at the buckle on the straps holding Sam to the table.

"You? You should be sleeping. How did you get here?" Dr. Benton asked as he rose from the floor.

Faith spun in shock. "Me? You should be --" instead of continuing, she attacked him with his own surgical tools.

Satisfied that the doctor was down for good, Faith returned to Sam. She kissed him then returned to un-strapping him. "Sam, though I'm finding this bondage look kinda hot, let's save it for a time we're not in a dingy old cabin, okay?"

Sam grinned sleepily, "Faith, I --" His eyes widened, "Behind you!"

Faith spun, "What the hell? Can't you just die already?"

 

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Nervous about releasing her grip on the seat, Buffy reached for her ringing phone. "Hey," her voice squeaked in worry, she didn't want the call to distract Dean. His eyes needed to stay on the road.

"Sam's safe," Faith breathed out.

"Sam's safe," Buffy repeated to Dean.

Dean eased his foot from the accelerator, "Thank god," he said on an exhale. "Have Faith tell him I'm gonna kick his ass."

Buffy snorted a laugh and disconnected, "She heard you and said get in line."

Though he slowed the Impala, Dean still radiated tension like an over tightened spring. Buffy gently put her hand on his shoulder, "Hey," she said softly, "Sam's okay. Everything is gonna be fine."

The muscle in Dean's tightly clenched jaw twitched. "I know."

Buffy edged closer to him. She reached out and soothingly ran her fingers through his hair. Dean blew out another deep breath, but his mind and heart were still racing with the panic he had felt. Buffy's hand dropped to his shoulder, then the seat next to him. Dean glanced at her, grabbed her hand, and kissed her fingers. "Thanks," he said just above a whisper.

Buffy smiled at him and squeezed his hand. Her heart rate was picking up again, but it had nothing to do with the speed of the car.

 

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Using the phone's GPS and Faith's directions, Dean and Buffy easily found their way to the cabin. Inside, they found Faith stretching and jumping in place. Sam was reading.

"Ya find anything?" Faith asked panting.

"Not yet," Sam replied.

"Please don't do this, I can help you," Dr. Benton mumbled from his current spot on the floor.

"Shut up you freak of nature!" Faith yelled.

Buffy and Dean asked, "What the-?"

Faith turned her nearly exhausted body to them. "Hey guys. Glad you made it."

Dean hugged Sam before giving his brother a light slap across the head. "Are you trying to kill me before the hell hounds can?" Dean turned to Faith, "Thanks for saving his sorry ass."

Faith grinned, "Hey, I like that ass, so no worries." Then she turned to Buffy, "Check this guy out." She pointed to Dr. Benton. "He's like Wyle E. Coyote and Jason Voorhees mixed together. I can't kill him."

Dean took his gun from his waistband and shot the doctor in the forehead. Benton immediately collapsed on the floor. Dean held his arms out to his sides in an expression of "that wasn't so hard". Then a moment later, Benton groaned. "What the --?"

Faith turned to Dean, "See? Total horror film bad guy. He just doesn't die."

Dean looked to Sam for an explanation. Sam held up Benton's journal. "Explains why Dad cutting out his heart didn't work. He just plugged in a new one."

"Dean, I can help you," Dr. Benton rasped.

Faith stomped over and punched the doctor in the face. "I told you to shut up."

"What is he talking about?" Buffy asked.

Faith rolled her eyes and pointed to Sam. "Well? Go on, tell 'em your plan."

Sam looked like a scolded child, but he turned to Dean and held up the doctor's journal. "Dean, this, this here, now. This is what's gonna save you."

Dean couldn't hide his shock, "What? Chasing some Frankenstein?"

Sam shook his head, "Chasing immortality. Look Benton can't die. We find out how he did it, we can do it to you."

"Sure, Sam. All I have to do is drink blood out of a baby's skull or something, right?"

"No, that's just it. This is science, if I'm reading this right," Sam explained. "What are you talking about?"

"In his journal, he has these formulas, directions. The thing is Benton never dies. You have to die before you go to hell, right? So if you can never die--" Sam attempted to reason with Dean, however Dean shook his head, "I was just trying to help."

"You're not helping. You forget that if I welch on this deal, you die. Guess what, living forever is welching," Dean replied feeling frustrated.

"Fine," Sam sighed, "then whatever the magic pill is, I'll take it too."

Buffy and Faith looked at each other, neither liked where this conversation was headed.

"Oh, what is this – Sid and Nancy? No. We kill the demon that holds the contract, and this whole damn thing wipes clean. That's our best shot," Dean answered.

"Even if you had the Colt, Dean, who you gonna shoot? We have no idea who holds the ticket," Sam stated barely containing his annoyance.

Dean smirked. "Yeah we do, little brother, it's Lilith." Sam stared, open mouthed. "Now, I didn't get the Colt from Bela.."

"But, I got my scythe back," Buffy informed Sam.

Sam looked from Buffy to Dean. "How do you know it's Lilith?"

Dean shrugged, "Bela told me." Seeing Sam beginning to doubt Bela's claim, Dean went on, "She had no reason to lie to me, this time. Trust me."

Sam began to nod, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. "Okay, so what do we do with Wylie over there? Sam asked pointing to the doctor.

"Dismember?" Dean suggested.

"He sewed himself back together before," Sam reminded.

"You could let me go," the doctor offered to the amusement of the others.

"So not gonna happen, Frankie," Buffy smirked. "How about dismember and bury in separate locations?" Faith and Sam nodded.

"How about dismember and salt and burn," Dean recommended.

"Perfect," Sam agreed, though Buffy and Faith were disgusted by the idea.

 

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Night had fallen by the time they had completed their gruesome task. The full moon offered plenty of light for them to find the path back to where their vehicles were parked, and Sam couldn't hide his smile. He hadn't seen his brother hold hands with a girl since Dean had been in high school. Sam so badly wanted to tease Dean, to make up for all the harassment Dean piled on him through the years. But seeing Dean happy, was worth putting off the teasing, at least for now.

Buffy whispered something in Dean's ear, making him chuckle.

"What's so funny Dean?" Faith asked.

Dean cleared his throat. "Nothin'." Buffy leaned into him and whispered again, making him chuckle more, before he whispered, "Don't worry, I got your back."

"Okay, I got your front," Buffy whispered in return.

Dean's brows shot up at her suggestive offer and he smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked

"Buffy's worried about ticks. So, she offered to do a tick check."

Faith and Sam exchanged looks. "Ticks?" Faith asked.

Buffy looked up at Dean, "You never know where one might be."

Sam rolled his eyes. How had his brother made Buffy fall for a tick check? Sam was certain Dean was using it as a new way to get in a girl's pants.

 

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Ruby paced in front of Bela, angrier than she had been in a while. "What do you mean you gave her the scythe?" Her entire plan for the Winchesters hinged on that weapon. "What is supposed to save your ass, now?"

Bela had already accepted her fate so she sneered at Ruby. "You can't possibly believe that you were going to be able to stop Lilith or my deal."

Ruby glared at Bela, too angry to speak, then she heard the hell hounds growling. "Well, looks like the puppies are here to play with their new toy." She opened the door, but the hounds only circled Bela, they didn't maul her. Ruby narrowed her eyes, "What gives, princess?"

Scared senseless, Bela said nothing but subconsciously touched the hex bag she wore around her neck. Thankful, that though she had just a few minutes to live, she wasn't going to die at the mouths of hell hounds.

However, Bela didn't know Ruby was very observant. Having seen Bela touch the hidden hex bag, Ruby moved passed the hounds. Her eyes blackened, her head tilted and she pinned Bela to the bed. Ruby used her knife to lift the cord holding the hex bag. "What's this?" she eyed the bag. Ruby recognized it immediately and grinned wickedly. She cut the cord off Bela's neck. "Dinner time!" she crooned to the hounds.

Ruby stabbed the hex bag, then twirled it around on her finger by its cord as Bela screamed in terror and pain. Ruby had thought that Sam being with a slayer was going to ruin everything. But, now she had exactly what she needed to get the Winchesters to do her bidding. Ruby knew there were only a few certainties in this world. One of those certainties was Dean Winchester's deep seated hatred for witches.

"Oh, Dean," she sighed. "Sweet, stupid, predictable Dean. You do make things so fun!" Ruby squealed as she planned her next move.

 

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Being too hungry and too wound up to check into a motel, Buffy, Dean, Sam and Faith stopped at a bar. While the girls grabbed a table, Sam and Dean ordered beers from the bartender. Sam smirked as he watched his brother check on Buffy. Dean noticed the look and asked, "What?"

Sam's smirk grew to a grin, "Nothing, just, you and Buffy."

"What? She's cool," Dean said defensively. He looked over at her again, "If I had met her at any other time…"

"You'd have run for the hills," Sam finished Dean's thought with a teasing smirk.

Briefly, a look of hurt flashed across Dean's face, but he recovered quickly, "Yeah, right?" He waved over the bartender. "I'd be looking for a chupacabre in New Mexico so fast your head would spin."

Sam had noticed the look, but didn't know what to make of it. Deciding to keep it light, "Dean likes Buffy," he teased in a sing song.

"Dude, what are you like seven?" Dean scoffed at his brother.

Sam wrinkled his brow in thought, "No, more like twelve. Yeah, I think that's how old I was the last time I saw you hold a girl's hand."

Dean narrowed his eyes at him. "Whatever, it's not like you weren't holding Faith's hand. So," he paused, "so, shut up."

Sam laughed. "Ooo, good come back Dean." Then, he hummed the same sing song tune again.

Dean rolled his eyes and shoved Sam's shoulder, "Here," he said handing Sam two bottles, "take these to the girls. I'll pay for these."

Sam nodded, "Okay, Dean, but are you sure you can stay away from Buffy for that long?"

"Stick it," he grumbled. While making sure Sam wasn't looking, Dean poured a healthy dose of hot pepper sauce into Sam's beer bottle.

After Dean joined them at the table, he pulled Buffy's chair close to his and read the menu over her shoulder. He bit his lip and closed his eyes when he noticed Sam taking a sip of his beer. Suddenly, Sam was spurting and swearing and drinking his ice water. "Dammit, Dean!" An angry glare shot towards his brother.

Looking up innocently at his younger brother, "What, Sammy?"

Sam glared, "You know damn well what." Sam pushed back from the table, "Jerk." He walked to the bar to order a fresh beer.

Dean chuckled but Faith and Buffy looked irritated. "Wanna explain what's goin' on?" Faith asked.

Dean shrugged, "I don't know." Dean went back to pretending to study the menu.

When he returned, Sam grinned slyly, "Payback's a bitch, dude."

Dean raised a brow, "I'm shakin' Sammykins."

"You should be. How long did it take for the skin to grow back from the last prank war you started?" Sam smirked. Faith and Buffy smiled and looked at Dean.

"A lot less time than it took for your hair to grow back Nair Boy!" Dean chided in return.

"Nair Boy?" Faith asked quietly.

Sam turned to her, wrinkling his brow, "Tell you later." Glaring at Dean, "Just remember you started this, Dean. Cuz you know they say when you least expect it…"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Sure, Sammy." Then he grinned widely and finished his beer.

Finding a motel room wasn't easy. Nothing was available where Sam and Faith were staying, so Dean and Buffy had to drive another hour before they came to another exit promising lodging. In that time, Buffy had fallen asleep against his arm. He let her sleep while he checked them in, then insisted on carrying her into the room. Though she claimed being carried wasn't necessary, Buffy snuggled into his embrace. Once he laid her on the bed, she held on to him and kissed him. "Just get some sleep," he whispered as he took her hands from his neck. Buffy looked surprised, but Dean smiled, slipped off his shirt and boots then crawled into bed and put his arm around her.

 

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Finally back in Cleveland, everyone seemed to go their separate ways. Faith needed stress relief so she worked out with the younger slayers. Sam researched omens in the library with Keisha. Dean spent the morning on the phone with Bobby. Buffy spoke with Andrew about new security measures now that the scythe was in their possession again.

Just as he was about to join Sam in the library, Dean's phone rang. "Dean, we need to talk."

"Ruby, what makes you think I want to hear anything you have to say?" Dean said as he disconnected. The phone rang again, "Stop calling. I don't care ---"

"If you want to see your car again, you'll meet me," Ruby said calmly.

"What did you do to my car?" Dean growled.

"There's a park two blocks away from you. Think you can walk that far? Or do you want me to pick you up?" Ruby asked in annoyance.

"Touch my car and I'll kill you."

"Then, I guess you walk."

Dean stalked over to his car ignoring the pacing Ruby. "If anything is wrong with my car --"

"Relax, I didn't hurt it," Ruby replied as she watched Dean look over his precious car. However, as he was about to open the driver's door, Ruby threw him into the nearest tree causing him to fall to the ground against it. "I said you could have the car after we talked."

Dean glared at her clenching his jaw.

"I take the hostile glare to mean I can start," she continued with a small smirk on her face. She reached into her pocket and retrieved the hex bag Dean had given Bela, and threw it on the ground in front of him. "I think it's time I came clean about some things, Dean."

"Right. What makes you think I'm gonna believe anything you have to say?" he scowled.

Ruby just raised a brow. "Just shut up and listen. Then, believe what you want." She held up the hex bag, "I took this from Bela's hell hound's chew toy dead body. Tell your witch she's gonna need to make them a helluva lot stronger if she hopes to keep your sorry ass safe."

Dean swallowed and tried not to let the fact that Bela was killed while wearing the hex bag bother him. "You were there when Bela died. What a surprise."

Ruby ignored him with a sigh. "Once I learned that you idiots allowed Bela to steal the Colt, I had her steal the scythe from the slayers." She smirked as she watched Dean's reaction. "See, I know the magic scythe is the one weapon sure to kill Lilith. I figure I hand it over to you guys and you guys just might start to trust me." She shrugged, "I didn't know you all had started sleeping together."

Dean ignored that comment and raised a skeptical brow, "Why would we ever trust you and why do you even want Lilith dead? And don't give me any of that 'I used to be human and I still love bunnies' bull shit. What gives?"

"'What gives?' Lilith is the First, in fact the first demon created by Lucifer, as a an act against God after he was expelled from heaven. Therefore she's majorly powerful and majorly twisted. I should know, five hundred years ago, when I was a human and a witch, I used to worship her, just like those witches in Massachusetts did."

She crouched down in front of him. "When the slayer sent me to hell, Lilith tortured me. She spent centuries torturing me. Inventing new methods of inflicting pain, so yeah, I want her dead. Not just sent back to hell, but dead." She stood and took a few steps away from him before she continued.

Then she shrugged, "I don't know how time works in heaven, but time works differently in hell than it does here, days are like months, months like decades, decades like," she paused, "well you get the picture. So, centuries of torture amount to more than a millennium of that bitch using me as her toy."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Now you're expecting me to believe in heaven. Next you'll tell me Santa Claus can get me out of my deal."

Ruby looked stunned. "You've seen evil, you believe in hell and all of us demons, but you don't believe in heaven? What, exactly, are you fighting for?" she asked seemingly confused. "How can there be evil without good, you moron?"

Dean just stared at the insult.

Ruby waved it off, "Fine, ask your girlfriend, she was there until that witch yanked her out." She fixed Dean with a stare as she watched the wheels turn in his mind. "Yeah," she acknowledged, "Your precious Sammy was there, too, 'til you…" Ruby looked at Dean hoping her words were having the desired impact.

"I, I don't believe you," Dean stammered.

Ruby huffed, "I don't have time for this, I don't care what you believe. Look, you have one chance to get out of your deal and kill Lilith, you want my help or not."

Having regained some composure, Dean smirked, "Why would I want your help? I've got an army of Slayers willing to help me."

Ruby shook her head, "Poor, poor, stupid Dean. The only thing that hates slayers more than me is Lilith. They shut her in the hell mouth as she was attempting to bring about the apocalypse, remember? Hell is hell, even for demons, not even Lilith wants to be there." She shook her head, "Oh, yeah, she's gonna want the slayers dead even more than she wants to see Sammy dead. And your plan is to bring them to her like some sort of gift?" Ruby appeared to be thinking, "Well, I guess that's better than letting Cleveland turn into a crater if you bring this battle here," she shrugged. Tilting her head, Ruby studied him. "You don't believe me." She rolled her eyes, "Ask if any of them had a slayer dream. Ask what happened to your girl in the dream." Ruby knew it was a gamble, but she was willing to risk that small part of her plan. Releasing her demonic hold on Dean, she finished by saying "Call me, if you want to avoid all that and get out of your deal."

Dean wasn't buying it, not completely, "You said there was no getting me out of the deal."

Ruby grinned to herself before turning to face him. "That was before I checked out the fine print." She walked up to Dean and dragged a finger down his chest, "A demon can't cheat the deal either, Dean." She turned, began to walk away, and waited for the inevitable.

"Wait," Dean called after her, "what do you mean by that?"

Ruby stopped. She had to be sure Dean had taken the bait, hook line and sinker, because she was only getting one shot at this. She turned to face him. "Well, like I tried to explain to Bela, before she put all her trust in a hex bag, people with contracts have an expiration date. If the demon that holds the contract collects before it's due, the contract is null and void," she said with a small smile.

Dean squinted, "So, if Lilith kills me before the contract is up, do I still go to hell?"

Ruby paused to make her argument seem more believable. "Yes, I think so." As expected, Dean huffed and made to interrupt. "But, if Lilith is then killed, your soul is freed."

Dean pressed his lips together in thought. "I'm still dead, though."

Ruby sighed and did her best to look disappointed. "Yeah, but you wouldn't be in hell. And haven't you been living on borrowed time, anyway?" Dean nodded and walked to his car. "Well, if you change your mind, call me. In the meantime, I'll start looking for Lilith." Ruby disappeared before Dean could say anything else.

 

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"Where the hell have you been?" Sam demanded the moment Dean walked in the room.

Dean blinked, "Oh, uh, the car needed some stuff, so I, uh, took care of it."

"Oh," Sam said more calmly, "What did Bobby say when you told him about Bela?"

Dean ran a hand over his hair, "Uh, you know, sucks that we lost the Colt, good that we got the scythe. Oh, and he thinks he may know of a way to find Lilith."

"Good, then we can take care of her once and for all," Sam said with surprising determination. Sam squinted at Dean, "You all right?"

Dean nodded, "Yeah, man, I'm good."

Sam stared at him for another moment. "Look, uh, about yesterday, I'm sorry."

"For what? Almost getting yourself killed by the good doctor or wanting to turn your good looking brother into a freak?" Dean teased.

Sam laughed, "Neither, for teasing you about Buffy." Dean instantly made the 'we're not talking about this' face, but Sam ignored it and continued. "I think it's great. I mean, I think the two of you together is great."

Dean rolled his eyes, "Dude, don't you have better things to do than think about my social life?"

"Yeah, actually, I do," Sam laughed. "But, man, I see how you look at her. And how she looks at you. I haven't seen that since Cassie."

Dean slumped his shoulders and looked to the ceiling for moral support. "Sam, can we not do this now, or ever?"

"Dean, I'm just saying, have you told her how you feel?" Dean's blank stare was his answer. "Okay, well once this is all over, then, will you?" Dean shook his head in frustration. Sam was equally frustrated, "Why not, man? Being a slayer, she can handle the job, so that's not an issue for you guys and you obviously care about her."

Dean smiled at his brother, "Let's get me to survive this mess I got myself in, then I'll worry about the girl, okay?" Dean looked around, "Where is Buffy, anyway?"

"In the kitchen with Willow and Andrew," Sam answered. "I think they're cooking or something."

Dean grinned as Sam's answer could mean a meal was about to be served.

 

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"It's so great that you got the scythe back," Willow said with a smile as she sat across from Buffy.

Both women had large binders on the table before them. "Uh-huh," Buffy agreed absent mindedly as she tapped her pencil on her binder.

Willow grinned at her best friend. She tore a sheet from her binder, "Here, Andrew. Use this as your shopping list."

Andrew took it from her, looking over it with a frown. "Hmm, I suppose you need me to do this now," he sighed. Willow nodded which made Andrew sigh again, "Very well, I'll go."

Once Andrew left, Willow covered Buffy's hand with her own. "Spill."

Buffy's brow wrinkled in confusion, "Huh?"

"Why are you so distracted?" Willow asked, then laughed lightly. "Or maybe I should ask, what did Dean do that has you so distracted?"

"Nothing," Buffy said with a shake of her head. After a moment, she went on, "I always thought it would be impossible for me to have a relationship. But, I don't know, I mean, he makes me think that maybe I could." She met Willow's smiling eyes, "Maybe."

Willow grinned, "So, are you saying he makes you want to be a cookie and not just the dough?"

Buffy groaned. "God, I am so sorry I ever made that analogy."

Willow laughed. "But, that's it isn't it?" Buffy made a face. "Because it looks like if anyone was gonna be cookie worthy, Dean could be it."

Buffy grinned. "I guess he could be cookie worthy. He is, like Cordelia used to say, hot enough to bake cookies on." Willow laughed. "And he sure makes me warm all over."

"So cookie or still dough?"

Sam and Dean entered the kitchen and Dean's eyes lit up as he overheard the question. "You're baking cookies?"

Willow and Buffy exchanged looks and giggled. "We were talking about it," Buffy admitted.

Sam smiled at his brother, "You should let Dean help. He makes awesome cookies."

Dean looked at his brother in shock for a moment, but Buffy and Willow turned shades of red and giggled even more. Willow looked at Dean with a raised brow, "You make cookies, huh?"

Dean shook his head, wondering what Sam was referring to, when a smile began to cover his face. "I can't believe you remember," he turned to the girls and said with pride, "Yes, I make awesome cookies." The giggles erupting from the girls made Dean feel defensive. "How old were you, Sam?"

Sam nodded and began to smile, "I was turning seven."

"Right, it was for your birthday." The brothers shared wide grins. Dean looked back at Buffy. "So, Dad parked us in some dinky town for a couple weeks and Sammy's birthday is coming up."

"And my whole class is like this perfect Mayberry Suburbia…" Sam interrupts.

"Stepford," Dean corrected.

"Yeah, total Stepford," Sam agreed enthusiastically. "But I'm six and I gotta fit in with these kids. And every other kid whose birthday happened while I was in class, came in with these awesome homemade treats."

"Sammy whined for days about these stupid birthday treats he needed," Dean added. "I figure, how hard can it be? I sorta remembered my mom baking cookies, at least I remember her letting me taste the dough," he shrugged.

Buffy and Willow look between the brothers to see who will continue, when Sam laughed. "We went to the store and blew all the money Dad gave us for the week on ingredients for chocolate chip cookies."

"How'd you know how to make the cookies?" Willow asked.

"I read the back of the chocolate chip bag. We bought everything the recipe called for and I spent the night making cookies."

By this time, Sam was laughing so much at the memory he was wiping his eyes, "God, remember how much dough we ate?"

Dean joined in the laughter. "I had to bake two batches 'cause we ate so much dough from the first one." He paused for a moment, "The worst part was Dad coming home." Sam nodded. Dean pointed at his brother, "This one fell asleep so I'm making all these cookies and it's taking forever. I burn two or three sheets of cookies cuz I'm falling asleep. Then Dad comes home from the hunt he was on and wants to know what the hell is going on and why I'm still up and why I'm baking cookies instead of just buying them."

"That's right," Sam said, "but that's not even the worst part."

Dean rolled his eyes, and looked at Buffy, "Dad's exhausted and doesn't want to hear the whole story, just sends us off to bed, tells us we'll clean up in the morning."

"In the morning," Sam continued, "we find out Dad ate about half the cookies and I won't have enough for my class."

"Oh, no," the girls say in shocked unison.

Sam and Dean laughed. "I was almost crying," Dean confessed.

"I was crying," Sam admitted.

"After all that work, you didn't get cookies?" Buffy asked with a tinge of empathy in her voice.

"We had cookies," Sam corrected, "just not enough for my class treat."

"Dad stopped and bought a bag of those mini Snickers on the way to school," Dean added.

"Oh, were your classmates disappointed?" Willow asked.

"No, I was a hero. No one ever brought candy before," Sam said with a huge grin.

Dean shook his head and chuckled at his brother. "I haven't thought about that in years." He looked at Buffy and met her smile with one of his own, "So, babe, we makin' cookies, or what?"

Willow smiled from ear to ear as Buffy answered, "Oh, yeah, we're definitely baking cookies."


	8. Chapter 8

Haunted by Ruby's words, Dean hardly slept. Was there really a heaven? Did he tear Sam out of heaven because he selfishly needed him? He sat up and looked over at Buffy sleeping peacefully. Had she really been in heaven? Did she really have to claw her way out of her grave? It broke Dean's heart to think of it. He looked at the clock. There were a few thing he could check on by himself to determine if Ruby had been telling the truth.

Dean sat on the back porch of Buffy's house and dialed the Canaan police department. "Yes, hello. This is Agent Morrison with the FBI. I'm following upon a missing persons report. I was given information that your department was notified about a Jane Doe found dead at a local hotel. The victim may match the woman in our case," Dean listened as the call was transferred to a superior officer that could give him the proper information.

"Hello, Agent Morrison? This is Detective Bay. Our victim wasn't a Jane Doe," the detective informed him. "Her name was Mena Chandler. Is that your girl?"

"Damn. Yes, it is detective," Dean sighed dramatically. "Can you give me cause of death so I can break the sad news to the family?"

"Well, agent that's the odd thing," Detective Bay began, "it seems that she was mauled by animals even though she was found behind the locked door of her hotel room. I know it makes no sense, our forensic guys and the coroner should have a full report prepared soon. Do you want me to fax…"

Dean hung up. Shit, he thought. Ruby hadn't been lying about the hex bag not working against hell hounds or demons. Dean rested his head in his hand. Now, he needed to ask Faith about her slayer dream. He knew she'd be reluctant to tell him if something bad happened to Buffy in the dream, but he'd try to get the truth from her.

From inside, Buffy watched Dean for a few minutes. She wanted to rub the tension from his shoulders. She wanted to lay her head on his chest and listen to his heart beat. She wanted to go back to Memphis and pretend none of this was happening. Back to when she was amazed at how much fun she could have with him. Buffy sighed, she needed to save Dean from this deal.

"Coffee?" Buffy asked from her doorway.

Dean turned to find her smiling sweetly at him. "That'd be great," he replied with a small smile of his own.

Buffy walked over with a steaming mug. "You okay?" she asked as she sat next to him with her own mug.

"Yeah," he answered then took a sip. "I got a beautiful woman handing me a cup of coffee… what could be wrong?"

Buffy looked in his eyes and ran her fingers through his hair, "I," she began but stopped. Dean wrinkled his brow at her halted thought. "Um, I gotta go in. Uh, Giles arrived. He wants to know what's happening."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I remember. The British guy."

Buffy nodded, "My old watcher. I mean my former watcher." She made a face and shook her head. "Anyway, you and Sam don't have to be there. He wants to meet with me, Xander, Willow and Faith, so it's up to you."

Dean looked away from her. "Bela's dead." He held up his phone as if to answer how he knew.

"Sorry," Buffy said quietly.

"Don't be," Dean said and put his hand on her leg. "She made the deal. She killed her parents and got ten years of causing people like us hell." He shrugged. "I'm not saying she deserved to die, well, at least not like that."

"We could have saved her if we had gotten to Lilith in time," Buffy admitted. They were both quiet for a minute. "Maybe Willow can do a location spell."

Dean turned to Buffy. "She's that powerful?"

Buffy nodded, "Yeah, but I think the spell doesn't always pinpoint location." She shook her head. "Or it depends on the demon. I can't remember." She shrugged.

Dean smiled, he thought that look on Buffy's face was adorable. He put his arm around her to pull her close and kissed her on the top of her head. "Maybe Sam and I will do the research thing while you guys have your meeting."

"Okay," Buffy agreed as she pulled away to meet his eyes. "I doubt the meeting will last long and Giles'll probably want to meet you guys anyway."

"You really trust this guy, a lot, huh?" Dean asked looking into his coffee.

"With my life. Giles got me through," she paused, "well, pretty much everything." She stood up, took Dean's hand, pulling him up to stand, "I know he can help us."

 

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Rupert Giles spared little time on sentimental reunions. The moment he had Buffy, Willow, Xander and Faith together, he began, "Tell me, what have you learned about Lilith and her motives?"

"As far as we can tell," Xander answered, "She's only after Sam Winchester. She wants him dead for some reason. And, she's the demon that's holding Dean Winchester's contract."

Giles mulled that over. "Yes, the elder Winchester sold his soul in exchange for his brother, right?"

Buffy nodded, "Yes, the terms were Sam was brought back and Dean got one year."

"One year?" Giles was astounded. "That's highly unusual. The standard is ten. I've heard of a case of where the person was given five years, but one?"

Xander shrugged, "Well, she really wants him in hell."

Giles looks at Xander as if he's cracked the code, "Perhaps that's her goal. The Winchesters in hell." He leaned back in his chair, "But why?" His only answer was a shrug from everyone in the room. Again, Giles turned to Xander, "Any portents or signs to show where she is?"

"Not yet," Andrew responded.

"Faith, was there anything else in your dream that could give us a clue to her whereabouts?" Giles asked.

"I'da told you if there was," Faith answered.

Giles nodded, "Yes, of course." He looked at Buffy, "The slayers should be on high guard around the hell mouth. We mustn't let her open it."

"I was thinking of dialing back training to focus on that and doing research to get Dean out of his deal," Buffy admitted before turning to Willow. "Can't you do a location spell or something to help us find her?"

Willow frowned, "I've tried. She's completely shielding herself. In fact, the one spirit willing to talk about Lilith, told me Lilith is on shore leave."

The room exchanged looks. "What does that mean?" Xander asked. "What does a demon do for vacation?"

"I'm sure we don't want to know," Giles answered.

 

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The family wore wide smiles as they gathered around the table singing 'Happy Birthday'. An adorable eight year old girl with long blond hair clapped her hands as they sang. The moment the song ended, the girl leaned forward and blew out the eight candles on the heavily frosted cake. "I love birthdays!" she said with an angelic smile.

The mother beamed, "I know you do, sweetie." The mother sliced into the cake and put a large piece onto a plate for the girl.

"Ooo, yummy, chocolate, thank you," the little girl smiled at the mom. The little girl looked toward the front door. "Where are you going, Grandma?"

The older woman turned to the sweet little girl. She plastered a smile on her face. "Your present is outside, my dear, I'm just going to get it."

"No, you're not. You're lying," the little girl said her face wearing an exaggerated pout. The other adults exchanged worried expressions.

"Sweetie, Grandma wouldn't lie," the mother whispered, while looking with worry at the other woman.

"She's lying!" the girl shouted. "I hate liars!" She pounded her little fist on the table.

The older woman straightened her shoulders to face the little girl. Taking a fortifying breath she declared, "You are not Emma. You are something evil. You -" Her voice suddenly stopped as her neck twisted and she fell dead.

"I want ice cream, too, Mommy!" the little girl demanded, as she happily clapped her hands ignoring the stunned gasps of the adults in the room.

 

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"And then, she threw out this bright light, like from her hand, but it didn't affect him. Then there was a big cloud of black smoke. That's all I remember," the young slayer told her companions. "So now I'm waiting to talk to Andrew to tell him…" Her mouth fell open as Sam and Dean walked through the doors. "Oh my god. It's him. The guy I dreamt about."

The Winchesters met her startled gaze and Dean chuckled and elbowed Sam in the ribs, "Dude, I'm the man of her dreams."

The girl shook her head, "No, not you. Him." She pointed at Sam. "I had a dream about you." She took a look at Dean briefly, "Well, you were there, too."

"And you were there, and you were," Dean said mocking Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.

Sam gave him a disapproving look, before turning to the girl. "You had a slayer dream? Can you tell me what happened?"

"Sam! Dean!" Keisha called as she hurried down the hall. "I dreamt about Lilith last night. She's possessing a little blond girl…."

"She's got the whole family doing whatever she wants, right?" the younger slayer asked.

Keisha blinked. "Yes." She grabbed the girl by the arm, "What else did you see?"

"Uh, well," the girl pointed at Dean. "He was being attacked by something, but I couldn't tell what it was." She couldn't bring herself to look at Dean. "But, this guy," she pointed to Sam, "was like immune to her power ray or something."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. "Like the virus?" Dean said in a near whisper.

Sam shrugged. "What else did you guys see in your dream?"

"What happened to Buffy in your dream?" Dean interrupted to ask Keisha.

Keisha looked away, "I, I'm not sure."

"I saw her covered in blood and laying on the ground," the other slayer said nonchalantly ignoring the annoyed glare of Keisha.

Dean nodded and stepped back. Sam put a reassuring hand on Dean's shoulder, but was too excited to stop asking questions. "What about a location? Did any other girls have a slayer dream?"

Keisha looked at him with wide eyes as an idea struck her. "Summer, go round up any girls that had a dream about this. Maybe, if we all examine our dreams we can get some more clues as to where that bitch is hiding." She smiled at Sam. Summer and the other two slayers left to do what they were told.

Dean sat down and covered his face with his hand. Keisha sat next to him, with her hand on his shoulder. "Dean, we will figure this out. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about Buffy. She's -"

"She's what?" Buffy asked as she turned the corner followed by Giles and the others.

"A bunch of girls had slayer dreams," Sam answered.

"And in them, you're on the ground and you're covered in blood," Dean said looking into her eyes.

Buffy took a second and tilting her head as she looked at him. "So? When you met me I was covered in blood."

Dean threw her an irritated glare. "Not your own." He rose from his chair and walked out.

Giles scowled as Buffy went after him. Some things never change, he thought.

"I have Summer rounding up girls that had dreams. Perhaps, if we compare notes, we can learn where this Lilith is," Keisha informed them.

 

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Buffy dragged Dean into the other room. "Dean, it was just a dream."

"No, it wasn't," he ground out. "You know that. They all had slayer dreams and in them you were on the ground, covered in blood, Buffy."

Buffy sighed, "Dean, slayer dreams don't perfectly predict the future. They're not accurate. They just provide clues."

Dean glared at her for a moment, "So far the clues show that you're down, covered in blood." Dean shook his head. "But if you die 'cause of me, and this mess I got myself in."

"I won't," she could tell her words didn't do much to sooth his fears. She realized she needed to show him just how powerful she was. Taking his hand she said, "Come on, I want to show you something." She led him to the training room.

Buffy walked to the body bag she and Faith used for training. "Punch that."

Dean rolled his eyes and just stood there.

"Okay," Buffy huffed. "How about you push it?"

With another eye roll, Dean lightly pushed the bag. He was surprised at its sturdiness and that it barely moved at his touch.

"Xander is going to kill me for this," Buffy muttered before stepping back to hit the bag with the heel of her hand. Her one punch tore the bag from its support beam and sent it a few feet. She turned to Dean smirking at his astounded expression, "I wasn't really even trying."

"Holy shit," he chuckled.

"Go pick it up."

Dean looked at her with a raised brow, but went over to lift the bag, or try to. Then his eyes really got large. "This thing weighs over a hundred pounds," he said dropping it back to the ground.

"Yeah. Try over two hundred. We have them specially made," Buffy replied as she walked over to retrieve the bag. "So, what I'm trying to say is, I can take care of myself. Whatever they see in the dreams, doesn't mean something bad is going to happen to me. Just that I'm going to ruin more clothes," she joked.

Dean nodded slightly reassured. "It also means you're carrying your own bags from now on," he joked making Buffy smile.

Seeing that they were alone, Dean took the opportunity to ask another question that had been bothering him. "I need to ask you something. What happened when you died?" Buffy looked taken aback for a moment. "Did you really go to heaven? Heaven's real?"

Buffy sighed as she leaned against the wall, then she nodded. "I know it's hard to believe with how bad things can get here, but yeah, there's a heaven and yeah, I was there."

Dean squinted at her, "So, did you meet God and St. Peter at the pearly gates?"

Buffy laughed, "No, it's not like that." She hadn't talked about heaven in a very long time. Dean watched her, waiting for her to continue. "Heaven was… I felt safe, and happy and loved." She looked at him, but he was looking down again. "My mom was there," she added quietly.

"Your mom?" Dean looked at Buffy momentarily as a tidal wave of guilt washed over him. Had he not only taken Sam away from heaven, but also their mom? "I need some air," he mumbled before heading out of the gym.

"Dean?" Buffy stopped him. She stood in front of him wrapping her arms around his neck. "Dean? What's wrong?"

Where to begin, he thought. "They dragged you out of heaven and made you dig yourself out of your grave." His hands on her hips pushed her back a bit.

"They didn't know," Buffy immediately defended her friends. She took her arms from around his neck.

"I brought Sam back, from heaven."

"You didn't know."

"Yeah, that makes it better," his voice was shaky but still sarcastic. "Maybe I deserve hell."

"Dean!" Buffy admonished.

"I've been lying, cheating and stealing my whole life, I probably deserve it just for that. But, taking Sammy out of heaven? Away from our Mom?" he took a second to control his emotions. "I bring him back to this? I put him through this mess?" Dean shook his head. "He must hate me." He stepped around her making his way out of the gym, brushing off the hand Buffy put out to hold him there.

Buffy's heart broke as she watched him leave.

 

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When Dean got to the Impala, he realized that Ruby hadn't been lying. Bela was dead, the hex bag hadn't helped her. There was a heaven, and he'd been asinine enough to pull his brother from it. Dean no longer cared about being saved from his deal. He just wanted Lilith and Ruby dead. He wanted Sam safe; that was the least he could do.

Taking a deep breath, Dean made the call he thought he'd never make.

"So, I see you've come to your senses, eh, Dean?" Ruby purred. "What did it for you? Did the slayers have bad dreams about your girlfriend? Did Sammy tell you about his time in heaven?"

"Look, I'm in alright. Just what do I need to do to gank Lilith?"

"You need to trust me," Ruby sneered.

Dean's stomach churned at the thought. "Fine, whatever. Let's just kill the bitch."

"Hold on Dean," Ruby said calmly. "You still have time and I haven't found her, yet. I'm just about the most hated demon on the planet for helping you and your brother so I'm not getting the office newsletter. I don't know where she is. Give me twenty four hours, I'll get it out of some one. But, you need to do some things, too."

"All right, what do I have to do?" Dean scowled.

"You need to leave the slayers at home."

"Yeah, I figured that. What else?"

"Get the scythe. Beg, borrow, steal, I don't care what you do to get it just get it. Without the Colt, that's our best chance."

Dean was quiet while he thought it over. "I can do that."

"One last thing," Ruby said relaxing at the ease of tricking Dean Winchester. "I'll make Sam some super strong hex bags. We gotta keep him under Lilith's radar."

"Not a problem. He won't be coming with me," Dean smirked.

Ruby huffed in annoyance. "Dean, who are you kidding? Sam's not going to let you do this alone. You show up without him and Lilith just might hightail it out of whoever she's wearing to go after him. So, skip the melodrama and bring Sam, let's just keep him off Lilith's radar. I'll be in touch."

 

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With her arms wrapped around herself, Buffy watched Dean from the window. Dean's expression was unreadable as he stared at the ground. The last thing she had wanted to do was cause him more pain.

"Buffy?" Xander walked up behind her, "What's going on?"

She nodded toward Dean. "He, uh, asked about heaven, so I told him." Xander looked perplexed. "He didn't know it existed and now that he does, he's angry with himself for pulling his brother out of there."

Xander nodded. "I know how it upset me when we found out we did it to you." Buffy reassured him with a hand on his shoulder. "You didn't know Xander, and the hell mouth was, well, going to hell at the time."

Xander put an arm around her. "Buf, you know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, but this fight, this deal between the Winchesters and Lilith? Something just doesn't seem right."

Buffy gave her friend a look of concern. "What do you mean, Xander?"

"It's just, well, he made a deal, Buffy," Xander could see Buffy becoming angry. "I don't want him to go to hell, or die, but why do we have to go after the First? We should concentrate on guarding the hell mouth. Let the Winchesters go face Lilith. They're hunters they've faced their share of.."

"Xander! She'll kill them, you know that!" Buffy pulled away from him. "Our job is to stop her."

"No, our job is to protect the hell mouth," Xander said straining to control his emotions.

Buffy fumed and looked out the window at Dean. Taking a deep breath, she took a moment to really look at Xander and saw the anxiety he was carrying. "Xander, I love you. You've been one of my best friends forever. I get how facing the First, again, would not be on the top of your 'fun things to do list'. But, if we can catch her with her guard down, while she's on this 'shore leave', we'll have an easier time kicking her ass." She held his arm. "We have enough slayers to guard the hell mouth and go after her. You and Keisha can stay here."

"It's obvious, hey?" the corner of Xander's mouth turned up. Buffy was practically reading his mind. "I like her, Buffy. It's been a long time since I got this close to anyone. I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"I know and it won't," Buffy replied as she looked back at the window at Dean.

Xander tilted his head toward the window. "How 'bout you? You in love with him?"

Buffy shrugged as a small smile formed. "I don't know." She leaned on Xander. "I like him a lot. He's good to me." She turned to face Xander. "He didn't want us to have anything to do with this. Sam told Faith, and -"

Xander nodded, "I know. He seems like a good guy, Buf." Xander hugged her. "And, hey, he's a human," Xander teased.

Buffy shoved him playfully, "Just for that, I don't mind telling you I broke the body bag in the gym."

 

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"Well, Bobby, that's the plan. What do you think?"

Dean listened as Bobby huffed and grumbled on the other end. "Kid, I think you're crazy." Dean fell, this idea was the only one he could think of, if Bobby didn't think it would work…. "You think you can get that witch to put some sorta spell on the scythe? Something so Ruby don't know what it is?"

Dean brightened immediately. "Yeah, I think, she'd do that. So, it'll work, right?"

"Don't know, but it's as good a plan as any, I guess. Don't much like the outcome, but," Bobby complied, "be sure to call me the second you find Lilith, okay, boy?"

"You got it, Bobby," Dean smiled and hung up. Now all he had to do was convince everyone else of his plan.

 

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When Dean finally found Sam, his brother was in a room full of slayers, nearly all speaking at once.

"No, pinned to the desk."

"I thought it was a table."

"Whatever, he's pinned down and a beast I've never seen before is clawing him open."

"Yeah, it's totally gross."

Faith rolled her eyes, "Enough about what happens to Dean. Girls, we need a location. Where does this go down? All I could see was the inside of the house. Anyone get more?"

The room quieted. After a moment, Keisha spoke up, "It's in the Midwest." She closed her eyes, "The trees. Maple, elm, oak, all young, no palm trees, no giant pines. And it's cold. No, not cold, but chilly, like here. No mountains, no ocean."

Then another girl spoke, "Yeah. And the houses were like that subdivision by the mall. Ya know, all big, but all kinda the same."

"Was it the neighborhood by the mall?" Sam asked.

"No," Faith answered. "We've been through there enough that we'd all have recognized it."

"I remember a water tower," a girl from the back of the room said quietly. All heads turned toward her. "The word on it ends in 'm'."

"What kind of water tower? Can you draw it?" Sam asked.

The girl gave him a nod and began to draw, when the girl next to her said, "There's something about colts."

"A gun?" Sam asked excitedly.

"No," Dean answered from the doorway. He looked at the girl, "Is it blue and white?" She nodded. "Then it's probably the Indianapolis Colts." The room looked at him. "It fits with the Midwest," he shrugged. "Sam, can I talk to you a sec?"

"Dean, we've got something here. We're close to figuring out where Lilith is," Sam replied.

"Yeah, that's great, but I need to talk to you." Dean gave him the 'I'm-your-older-brother-do-what-I-say look. Sam huffed and went to the door.

Andrew looked at the drawing of the water tower. "I think I can work with this," he looked at Keisha and Faith. "I'll start searching for towns that match what we have so far."

 

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Sam started to speak three times after Dean had explained his plan. Each time he stopped himself, too emotional to talk. Finally, after being prodded by Dean's expectant stare, Sam spoke. "You're believing something Ruby told you?" Sam shook his head. "You always told me she was a lying skank, but now, when it comes to your suicide mission, you want to believe her."

Dean dragged a hand over his face. "It's not sui-. I checked out all the parts of her story that I could, and she's telling the truth."

"To manipulate you," Sam scolded.

"Yeah, but if we just play along long enough, we can gank both those evil bitches," Dean said with a smirk.

"But, you still end up dead," Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, but that's worse case scenario. No one else will, well, except for Lilith and Ruby," Dean rebutted.

Sam looked at his brother skeptically, "Think they're gonna let you have the scythe?"

"I sure as hell hope so."

 

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Sam slouched in his chair not watching his older brother try to convince the others of his plan. His eyes didn't lift off his hands until he heard Dean ask, "Is it true? Would that break the deal?" Sam's eyes then went to Giles' face, as did everyone else's in the room.

Giles took a deep breath, "Actually, yes. If Lilith kills you before the date the contract is due, she, in essence, breaks the contract."

Dean's face wore a small smile at that answer. He didn't bother to look at the others when he continued. "Andy and the girls are close to finding Lilith. Looks like she might have set up shop in Indiana. So, I'm going to need the scythe-"

"No. Absolutely not," Xander declared. "You want our best weapon for your joint venture with a demon, I don't think so."

Dean looked at Xander, surprised at his outburst. "Xander, I -" he looked around the room. Buffy, Willow, and Sam were studying the floor, Faith and Xander were giving him death glares. Only Giles seemed to be open to hearing his idea. "Look, everybody, let me explain. Once Ruby said she wanted Sam to come along, I knew she was trying to play me." He looked at Willow. "I don't know why your hex bag didn't work against her or the hell hounds, but maybe you can make something to protect Sam."

Willow looked unconvinced, "What do you mean my hex bag didn't work?"

"Bela was killed by hell hounds. I checked with the local police," Dean answered. "When I met with Ruby she was holding your hex bag. It had the cinnamon in it."

Willow made a face, "Ruby was holding it? Was the cord cut? Was there any damage to the bag?"

Dean dragged a hand over his face as the realization of Ruby's action occurred to him. "She cut the cord with her knife and took it from Bela before the hell hounds-" Willow nodded. "Damn, she's good," Dean admitted. "She knows I hate witches and wouldn't trust you." Dean's eyes widened. "Wait, Willow, I mean, not you. You're a Glenda, but, you know."

Willow smirked at Dean's attempted apology. "It's okay, Dean. There are a lot of evil witches out there."

Dean gave Willow a half smiling look of relief, before turning again, to Xander. "I only want to see if I can duplicate the scythe. If I can make a close enough copy, and Willow is willing to work her mojo on it, then maybe Ruby won't know the difference when I trade it for her knife."

Buffy, Willow and Xander exchanged looks. An entire silent conversation taking place among them. Faith kept her eyes on Sam, she did not like what she saw. Sam was fuming. Giles studied Dean. The young man sure seemed determined. "How would you make the duplicate?" Giles asked.

"The only class, other than auto shop, that I ever actually attended regularly, was metal shop. And if I can't do it, I know Bobby Singer can," Dean answered. "Ruby's never seen the scythe up close and personal, so, I just need to make it believable."

Giles nodded then looked to the others, "I think we should give him his chance. If he can -"

"We think we found Lilith!" Keisha announced as she burst through the door. "Salem, Indiana."

"Really?" Dean exclaimed. "Great. We can get this over with as soon as tomorrow."

"No, Dean," Buffy looked up from the spot on the floor she had been studying to confront Dean. "This isn't just about you and your deal. This is Lilith, the First. We go in smart or we don't go in at all. We're gonna need tomorrow to plan." She looked around the room, "Xander and Keisha, choose some girls you think are able to provide the back up we may need, and get them ready. Sam, you and Andrew find out as much about this town as you can. We'll need ways in, and not just roads. We'll need sewer access, water lines, power grids, you name it." She turned to Willow, "Willow, you and Faith make enough hex bags to cover everyone going on this road trip and find a spell you can work on the duplicate scythe to disguise it from Ruby. Giles, see who you can contact to find out if Lilith really is using Salem, Indiana as her vacation hot spot." When she finally turned to Dean, he was smirking like he caught her undressed. "Dean, you and I will work on the scythe."

Everyone rose, intent on leaving to begin their assignments. Dean walked over to her and leaned in very close and spoke low, "I like a take charge kinda girl. You're making me all tingly."

Buffy tried to hide her blushing smile behind an irritated eye roll, but was totally unsuccessful. Dean let her know he appreciated her supporting his plan, with a kiss that left Buffy momentarily dizzy. "Buffy, I," Dean began but then paused. Buffy looked up into his eyes and felt as if they were boring into her. "Thanks, um, for backing me up here." He kissed her again.

"We should get you the scythe, now," Buffy said breathily as they broke the kiss. Her eyes were still trained on Dean's lips.

"Why?" Dean asked as he leaned in and began to kiss her neck. "You finally cleared the room and we're alone." The hand at her back worked its way under her shirt to enjoy the feel of her soft skin.

Buffy found herself pulling Dean's shirt off, leaving him in just his t-shirt. The hand on her back had unclasped her bra and made its way to her breast. Without making a conscious effort, Buffy's legs wrapped around Dean. As those legs pulled him in tighter, Dean groaned softly. Before she knew it, Dean had her seated upon the table, her legs still around him and her shirt was slowly being pulled from her body.

"Dean," Buffy gasped.

"Mm?' he asked with his mouth still teasing her neck.

"Stop," she said on a shaky breath. "The room is monitored, uh, with cameras." Dean leaned off her to see, in her eyes, the same disappointment he felt. Buffy adjusted her clothing. "So, uh, we should, um, the scythe," she stammered as she regained some composure.

"Right," Dean replied. "Just give me a minute to, uh, control my scythe," he winked to a blushing Buffy.


	9. Chapter 9

* * *

  
"Mommy!" the adorable little girl sang, skipping into the kitchen.

The frazzled mother turned to the creature that wore her daughter's body. "Yes, dear?" However, her mother instinct took over when she saw the child. "What happened to your dress? Is that blood?" the mother asked in a worried yet demanding tone.

The child beamed a wide grin at her, "Oh, this? Freckles wouldn't sit for my tea party."

"Freckles?" the father asked. "What happened?"

"I took his insides out," the little girl said skipping to the family's refrigerator. "Mommy, I'm hungry. I want chocolate ice cream."

The adults had been exchanging terrified looks, but the mother sighed, "Yes, dear, of course."

The father reeled. He stared at his wife and the form that used to be his daughter. "Why?" he whispered.

The child spun to him, eyes turning white. "Are you questioning me?" a voice thundered from within her.

"No," the mother shakily replied for her husband, "no dear, he wasn't." Her eyes pleaded with her husband to remain complacent.

* * *

  
Dean ran through the darkening woods, not caring about the branches that were tearing at his clothes and soon his skin. All he could focus on was escaping the snarling beast that is gaining ground every second. Dean came to a halt as a fallen tree now blocked his path. Turning, his expression was of pure terror as the hell hound bore down.

"Sh, Dean, it's okay, it's just a dream," Buffy gently caressed his face.

He blinked his eyes and controlled his breathing. He reached up to cup Buffy's face, then he pulled her down for a kiss.

* * *

  
Ruby spun her knife in her hand. It dripped blood as it spun. She leered over the teenage boy she had strapped to a chair. "Tell me where Lilith is vacationing or I add holy water to the mix."

The boy's eyes were wide and black with the demon inside him. "I wouldn't tell you anything, Ruby," he hissed. "I'd rather go back to hell than help you."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "That's not what this knife does, boy. This little blade," she held it up to let it gleam in the dim light, "will end your existence." She sneered and used said knife to peel skin off the boy's arm. The demon wailed. Ruby picked up a bottle and poured its contents on the wound causing it to sizzle and the demon to howl. "Oh, sorry, I thought the Holy Water would make sure it didn't get infected," she growled menacingly.

* * *

  
Giles pushed his glasses to his forehead and rubbed his eyes. Muttering a curse at jet lag, he didn't hear Willow enter the room. "You okay, Giles?" she asked.

"Hm?" he looked over at the young witch. "Oh, Willow, I didn't see you. Yes, I'm fine, tired. Jet lag."

Willow nodded, "Any luck? Giles returned his glasses to his eyes. "Yes and no, it seems this Ruby is torturing demons weaker than herself to determine Lilith's location."

"Well, we could have one of the Winchesters tell her where Lilith is, or we could just leave her out of the plan all together," Willow suggested.

Giles shook his head. "No, she would assume the slayers also know if the information comes from one of the brothers. Besides, Dean's idea of getting her knife from her and returning it to the slayers is an excellent one." Willow shrugged. "Willow, we don't know what Ruby's intentions with the Winchesters are, but we know that she's pure evil. Destroying her is a necessity."

Willow mulled that over for a moment. "What if we got that demon to talk?" Giles squinted at her in confusion. "The two of us can possess the possessed person and tell Ruby what we want her to know."

Giles began to smile, "That's ingenious, Willow. I doubt the demon would suspect a thing."

 

Recreating the scythe, took Dean the rest of the day and most of the night. Even though he knew Ruby had never seen the scythe, he wanted it to be perfect. He was hoping it would also distract Lilith. He sharpened its edge, and attached it to the wooden handle, that ended in a stake, that Buffy had made.

Dean watched Buffy twirl the new scythe as if it were a child's baton. He wondered what his father would think if he knew he was putting his and Sam's life in the hands of a witch and some slayers.

The next step, take it to Willow for her to put a spell on it so that Ruby and maybe even Lilith wouldn't know it was a fake.

As Dean and Buffy entered the room, Dean turned to her, "Babe, could you go find Sam for me? I want to show this to him."

"Sure," she replied smiling sweetly at him as she left.

Faith took the scythe from him and swung it around a few times, testing its heft. "Nice work, Dean."

"Thanks," he muttered. After making sure Buffy had left, he turned to the others. "Uh, I really appreciate what you guys are doing. I mean I know my deal's not really your problem, but I gotta ask for one more thing." He paused as four pair of expectant eyes studied him. Shaking his head, he said, "No plan B. If this doesn't go our way, you guys just do what you can to ice Lilith." He ignored their shocked expressions and focused on Faith. "Faith, I know Sam's gonna try to bring me back. Don't let him."

"Dean - ," Faith began but Dean wouldn't let her continue.

"Look, I'm just trying to… We gotta break the cycle. First my dad, then me. We gotta stop spreading it for these demons," he begged Faith to understand.

"Dean, if Lilith sends you to hell, we have to," Xander replied.

"No," Dean looked from Xander to Willow. As Willow was about to interrupt, Dean held up his hand. "What if, when you pull me from hell, I've become a demon?"

"You won't," Willow said calmly.

Dean raised a brow. "You can't guarantee that. And I don't want Sam to have the same guilt I have if you pull me from heaven. Promise you'll let whatever happens happen?" he pleaded with them.

They solemnly nodded their agreement. "Alright, but Buffy's not gonna like that," Xander warned him.

Dean looked toward the door to see Sam and Buffy entering. "She'll deal just fine." he answered.

Willow watched Buffy's face light up as her eyes met Dean's. Dean looked at Buffy like she was a glass of water and he just crossed the Sahara. "Faith seems to think the scythe's okay," Dean informed them.

Sam took it from Faith, without realizing it was heavier than she made it appear. He nearly let it fall to the floor. "Nice work, bro," he grinned at Dean as he turned the scythe over.

"Yeah, Dean, nice ax," Keisha said just barely preventing herself from giggling.

Dean started to chuckle and Buffy blushed. "Keisha, are you checking out Dean's ax?" Buffy asked while she giggled.

Dean put his arm around Buffy's shoulders. "Well, Willow, it's up to you now. You think you can work some mojo on that thing so Ruby doesn't know it's not the real thing?"

Willow grinned, "She won't know what hit her."

Sam cleared his throat, "Well, now that we have the scythe ready, Andrew wants to talk to everybody about logistics."

Xander watched Faith and Buffy walk ahead of them escorting the Winchesters to the other room. He leaned into Willow's shoulder, "Ya know, about what Dean asked…"

Willow rested her head on his shoulder for a second, "Don't worry," she whispered, "I had my fingers crossed."

Xander chuckled, "Good, me, too."

* * *

  
Ruby flitted into Salem, Indiana. She crept towards the street her victim had told her was Lilith's current resort. The sheer number of demons told her that Lilith was nearby. However, she wanted to find the exact house. Walking into a house, she easily disposed of the humans that lived there. Ruby put her feet up on the table as she took a seat by a window with a view of the entire street. She'd find Lilith, but she had better get the Winchesters on their way.

 

Sam watched his brother while they sat in a conference style room and went over the duties being assigned to the slayers. Dean mostly looked distracted. Not that Sam blamed him. In less than forty eight hours, Dean would be facing Lilith. Most of the discussion had nothing to do with him or his deal, but was concerning the other demons in Salem and how the slayers were to deal with them. However, Sam nearly laughed out loud when Dean's head snapped to as Buffy began to talk about the role she and Faith were going to play.

Andrew hung pictures of houses on the front wall. "We're pretty sure Lilith is in one of these houses based on the descriptions from the dreams."

"Andy, you got an address?" Dean asked ignoring how Andrew mouthed 'Andrew' every time Dean called him Andy.

"Yes, well, almost. Pretty soon we'll know which house has a family with a little blonde girl," Andrew informed everyone.

As the meeting was wrapping up, Sam felt the need to address a concern that he felt had been over looked. "Buffy, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job," Sam began and instantly silenced the room. Even Faith gave him an incredulous look. "But, every girl dreamt that Dean was going to be attacked by hell hounds and we haven't even talked about them."

Faith rolled her eyes and Buffy shook her head. But before either of them could answer him, Xander spoke up. "Sam, Buffy took out three hell hounds and still made it to our prom." Both Winchesters' brows shot up. "So, yeah, I don't think you need to worry about some mangy dogs."

Dean leaned over to his brother and spoke quietly, "Dude, my girl is so hot." Sam shook his head but had to admit it was an impressive feat.

Dean's gloat was broken by Sam's cell ringing. He looked at the caller ID and at the others in the room. "Ruby," he announced and the room silenced. "Hello," Sam answered.

"Sammy, can you talk or is your slayer sweetie, near by?" Ruby asked. "Cuz if your idiot brother didn't tell you, I won't work with them."

"It's Sam," he reminded her in annoyance, "And yeah, I'm alone, I can talk."

"Good, I've got a solid lead on Lilith," Ruby purred into the phone. "Think you and Tweedle Dum can get to Salem, Indiana by tomorrow?"

"Sure, give us twenty four hours and-"

"Just get here and call me when you get into town. Then, I'll give you the address," the demon disconnected.

Sam grinned as he put away his phone. "Ruby says Lilith's in Salem, Indiana."

 

As the day dragged on, Dean felt like crawling out of his skin. He needed something to focus on and since his work on the scythe was done, he had nothing. After pacing enough to need new boots, he decided to take action. He had nothing to lose he reminded himself.

"Sam, hey, I need your help with something."

Sam left the table where he'd been studying the map of the neighborhood Lilith was visiting. "Sure, man, what is it?" He followed Dean into the hall.

Dean took a deep breath before beginning, "Uh, when you were with Jess, I'm sure you did all sorts of romantic shit." Sam made a face at him. Dean sighed, "Look, I wanna do something for Buffy and I, um…"

Sam smirked. He was tempted to mock Dean the way Dean would mock him, but instead he said, "So you need my help with 'romantic shit'?"

Dean rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Sam. You're the sister I never had."

Sam gave his brother an annoyed look and began to turn away.

Dean stopped Sam from leaving with a hand on his arm. "All right, come on, man, I'm sorry. I don't want to mess this up. I just want to do something nice for her, like dinner or something. I don't know. This is more your area of expertise." Dean paused before looking up at his brother almost sheepishly, "I think she's pretty much, you know, it."

Sam's brows shot up as he caught his brother's intention "So, maybe she should be it. She seems like she could be it."

Dean relaxed as he saw Sam understand his meaning. "She's at it as you get. Imagine bumping into her on the street in five years with a husband. And she tells me he's a doctor or a lawyer, and they live in a mansion by the ocean…"

Sam nodded in mock seriousness, "We'd have to kill him."

"Exactly," Dean chuckled, "We'd get caught, and I'd get the chair."

"Yeah, you would." Sam joined in the laughter. "Okay, what do you want to do? You could take her to a nice restaurant or you could do something at her place," Sam thought out loud.

Dean seemed to think it over, "I'd rather do something at her place."

"What about the fact that Faith and I are staying there?" Sam hoped to get a little help from his brother, too.

"I can get you a room someplace," Dean assured him, "someplace nice, I promise."

Sam smiled. "Well, come on, man, we don't have a lot of time to get you all chick flick appropriate."

They began to walk out when they passed Andrew. Dean stopped. "Hey, Andy, what are you doing?"

* * *

  
Buffy grew anxious as time passed and she hadn't seen or heard from Dean. Her stomach began to churn as she thought that he and Sam may have deserted the plan, and left without them. She quietly approached Faith, "Have you heard from Sam lately? I mean, do you know where he and Dean are?"

Faith gave her a quizzical look, "No, why?"

"I haven't heard from Dean for a while. I tried calling, but, I was wondering," Buffy paused. "You don't think they'd take off without us, do you?"

Faith rolled her eyes, "They better not have. But if we want to know for sure, we should get to your place. I'll drive, you call."

As Faith pulled into Buffy's driveway, the girls' worry was suddenly justified. Sam was carrying a duffel bag and striding to the Impala. When he saw Faith's jeep, he yelled something to the house. Faith turned to Buffy, "I can't believe those assholes! You go tear Dean a new one while I make Sam wish he was facing Lilith instead of me!" She flung herself out her door and stormed over to Sam.

 

"I thought we decided on the suit," Andrew said with disapproval as he looked at Dean standing there in jeans and a white dress shirt.

"No, _you_ did. Sam brought in the wrong one, anyway," Dean answered trying to allow Andrew to primp him though he found it annoying.

"Dean! So help me, if you and Sam think you can -" she looked around noticing flowers and candles everywhere. "What's going on? What is all this?" Buffy asked on a rushed breath as Dean turned and smiled at her.

"Hey," was all Dean managed to say as he stared at her.

Andrew dusted an imaginary speck off Dean's shoulder and whispered, "Good luck." He turned and smiled at Buffy nodding hello and good bye. He quickly walked toward the kitchen but turned when he got there, "Oh, and that stuff's gonna take another fifteen minutes at least."

Dean's eyes didn't leave Buffy's, but he tilted his head, "Okay, thanks." Then he blinked, and looked over at Andrew, "Hey, Andrew," Andrew turned to look at Dean, "thanks, man."

Andrew practically bowed. "No problem," he smiled as he walked out Buffy's back door.

Buffy's heart was hammering and her eyes were wide. She had gone from being furious to completely overwhelmed in a matter of seconds. "Dean? What is all this?"

Dean smiled bashfully, and ducked his head. He was suddenly feeling plagued with self doubt. He swallowed as he waited for his nerves to settle. "Uh, well, it's my last night on earth and I wanted to make it memorable."

Unfortunately, his words distressed her. She had to press her lips together and looked to the ceiling to keep from crying. Feeling the stress of the last few days, the tears formed anyway and her voice cracked when she said, "Dean, it's not.."

"Buffy, I know, I know it's not," he hurriedly reassured her. "But, that's my best line and I'm trying to get the girl, here," Dean added with a slight smile and a tilt of his head.

Buffy rolled her eyes, though she still fought tears, "Like you really need to try."

"I don't know about that," Dean shrugged and moved closer to her trying to get her to meet his eyes. He reached for her hands, "See, she's this amazing girl and I'm crazy about her."

Buffy looked away, as she felt herself begin to blush. "Dean," she said like she was scolding him.

"And, I'm worried she'll think that," Dean stopped, casting about for the right words, he began again. "For the past few weeks, I've been waiting for that look…"

"Look?"

"Yeah, your 'eat shit and die' look you gave me when you found out about my deal." Buffy bit her lip in embarrassment. "But you didn't do it. You, I don't know, forgave me or understood," he shrugged, "you keep surprising me."

"I surprise you? Hello! All this?" she said with a wave of her hand.

Dean smiled with a small shake of his head, "I want you to know that this," He waved his hand around the room, "has nothing to do with saving my life, it's that my life wasn't - ," he paused again. This wasn't him, he was more direct, he took a deep breath and wet his lips. "Buffy," he made sure she was looking him in the eye, "I'm in love with you."

* * *

  
"Winchester, you better not be cutting out on me," Faith growled as she stormed over to Sam. "We had a plan."

"Faith," Sam smiled as he leaned against the car. "No one's changing the plan." His dopey grin was angering Faith even more. "We're just going to spend the night somewhere else."

Stepping back to stay out of his reach, Faith narrowed her eyes. "Why? so you and Dean can take off without us?"

"No, by we I mean you and me," Sam said with the same overly happy smile on his face. "And then Dean and Buffy can have some 'Happy Grown-up Alone Time'." He watched Faith's expression slowly change to a grin. "Dean got us a suite at the Wyndom so we can give them some privacy and have our own 'happy alone time'."

As this new part of the plan became clear to Faith, she looked toward Buffy's house with a raised brow. "Alright, Dean," she nodded, then turned to Sam. "I don't suppose you remembered to pack for me, did you?" she asked nudging the duffel bag he carried.

Sam slipped his arm around her waist as they made their way to her jeep. He held out a toothbrush, "You won't need anything else. They have room service and a king size Jacuzzi tub." He kissed the top of her head. "We won't be leaving the room."

Faith's grin couldn't get bigger. "I like the way you think, Sam."

* * *

  
"You're in love with me?" Buffy asked hoping the shock she was feeling wasn't heard.

"Yeah." Dean regained his confidence as he had the sudden realization that being dead in twenty four hours might have it's advantages. What was the worst she could do? Already going to hell. Then, he cleared his throat. "In fact," Dean said as he walked to the stereo to start the music. "If it wasn't for this 'appointment' I have, I'd be trying to sneak off to Vegas with you." Buffy's eyes became saucers, he scratched his head, before he continued. "Or Niagara, or any ol' chapel of love that would take my plastic."

"You would?" Buffy asked bewildered and taken completely by surprise.

"Damn straight," he said with a cocky smile on his face. "If you said no, I'd spend every moment I could trying to get you to change your mind." Then he held her face in his hands, wiped her tears away with his thumbs, and kissed her. Slowly, he allowed his hands to move to her back to hold her close to him.

When they broke apart, Buffy's world had stopped spinning and she looked into Dean's eyes. "Careful what you wish for, Dean. When I save you, I just might make you live up to that promise," Buffy teased with a smile.

Dean raised a brow, "You think I won't? Try me."

Buffy smiled as she wiped her eyes then took his hands in hers, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying. This is very nice. It's lovely." She looked around the room at the candles and the flowers. "You must have worked very hard at all this."

"No, I mean not really," Dean answered truthfully with a shake of his head. "I told Sam and Andrew that I wanted to give you a romantic night and they pretty much did everything else. Andrew made your favorite meal, something he said you loved. And, Sam went through your CDs." Dean licked his lips. "They sent me to get the flowers," he looked around, "the candles were my idea," he added with a shrug. "Buffy, I just wanted one more perfect night with you," Dean looked into her eyes as he spoke.

Buffy blushed ever so slightly, "I'm gonna go change. I'll be right back."

Dean grabbed her hand, "You don't need to change…"

Buffy smirked at him, "You're trying to make this a memorable night, I don't want you remembering me in this," she pointed at her jeans and t-shirt. She gave him a quick kiss, "It'll be worth the wait, I promise."

Dean gave her a warning look, "You got five minutes and then I'm coming in after you."

* * *

  
Faith never felt petite, she rarely felt feminine. She had never considered herself a 'girlie' girl. But, that's exactly how she felt, riding in the elevator, with her back against Sam's chest and his arms wrapped around her. She knew she was grinning like a love struck teenager, but she didn't care. Sam held her tightly to him, tilting his head to gently kiss her neck as the elevator took them to highest floor.

Sam smiled as Faith made a happy 'mmm' sound as he kissed her neck. He couldn't believe he was lucky enough to be the guy to do that to her.

When they got to their suite, Faith practically skipped to the window, "Wow, check out the view! Sweet."

Sam thought about his brother making sure he and Faith had a nice place for the night. Sometimes his brother was the hard ass he pretended to be. Dean had nearly confessed his feelings for Buffy, it was pretty obvious to Sam even if he hadn't. All of a sudden, Sam realized that after tomorrow, good or bad, everything was going to change.

Sam took a deep breath, "Faith?" She turned to him wearing that smile that made his heart skip. "What do you want to do when this is all over?" He could tell by her expression he needed to be more clear. "I mean, after we destroy Lilith, I don't want to go back to the way things were. I don't think Dean does, either."

"What do you want, Sam?" Faith bit her lip, she hadn't been expecting this conversation, at all.

Sam chuckled at himself, he hadn't let himself feel like this in a long time. "Well," he said clearing his throat, "I'm hoping we can still be together." He looked into her eyes.

"Okay," Faith replied a bit unsure of what Sam meant.

Sam huffed a breath, "I mean, I want you and me to try to make something of this." He pointed between the two of them.

Faith gave him a genuine smile, "I'd like that, Sammy." She walked over, wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down for a kiss. "I'd like that a lot," she said against his lips. "I've gotten kinda used to you being around."

 

Every woman has the one outfit that she owns that makes her feel incredible, beautiful. Usually, it's something purchased on a whim with no occasion in mind. But when she wears it, the woman knows she looks her best. For Buffy, it was an ivory halter dress that she bought when Andrew took her shopping because she was depressed. When Buffy stepped out of her two minute shower, she saw Andrew's note and laughed, "Wear _the_ dress". She knew exactly which dress Andrew meant.

Dean sat in Buffy's living room. Dean stood in Buffy's living room. Dean paced in Buffy's living room. Dean cursed at the sappy chick music playing in Buffy's living room. How could anyone listen to this Norah chick, she was better at putting him to sleep than getting in the mood. He was starving and Buffy was taking far too long. (She was just over the five minute limit.) To help pass the time, Dean looked at some pictures on Buffy's mantle. Most were of people he recognized, but there were a couple with a girl Dean didn't know. "Must be Dawn," he thought to himself. Much to his surprise, he found one of him and Buffy on the steps of Graceland. He smiled remembering how happy they'd been. It seemed like ages ago.

Just then, Buffy appeared in the doorway causing Dean to fumble the return of the picture. Dean's mouth went dry as his eyes took a slow walk over her. When they reached her eyes, they blinked. "Wow," Dean said upon clearing his throat, "Yeah, you are definitely worth the wait."

Buffy smirked as she approached him, "Thanks, though I wouldn't have minded if you had followed me in."

"Now, you tell me," Dean mumbled into their kiss. As his hands caressed her bare back, Dean was consumed with thoughts of how soon he could get her out of the dress. Before he could act on any of his notions, the oven's timer sounded. When Buffy leaned out of their kiss, he sighed, "This meal better be worth it."

Dean watched Buffy pull dinner out of the oven, "What the hell is that? Are those Doritos?"

Buffy giggled as she answered, "Yeah, it's Andrew's junk food surprise. Trust me, Dean, it's delicious." Scooping some onto some plates, she said, "Can you grab us some beers while I take this to the table?" When Dean joined her, Buffy smiled, and toasted her beer with his, "Told ya I was low maintenance."

Dean shook his head as he marveled at her. "You really are something."

 

Faith laughed until she snorted as she lay in bed and forced Sam to answer the door for room service. She had wanted to answer the door naked, but Sam denied her, so she, in turn, made Sam do it. (Well, he was allowed to hold a pillow in front of himself.)

The room service waiter gaped at both of them. "I know you're hoping for a tip," Faith called from the bed, "but he's got nothing on him." She laughed at her own joke, but Sam just rolled his eyes and made excuses until the man left.

The look Sam gave Faith would have annoyed Dean, but Faith shrugged it off. "Sam," her voice sounded husky, "don't be mad, I promise I'll make it up to you." She joined him at the room service cart, grabbed her order of ice cream, and strolled back to the bed.

Sam slowly followed her. Faith looked up at him as she 'accidentally' dropped a spoonful of ice cream on her chest. She cocked a brow, "Would you look at this mess? Think you can help me clean up, Sam?" She set aside her bowl.

Sam smirked as he crawled into bed next to her. "Let me see what I can do," he replied leaning over her, slowly licking off the ice cream. "Tasty." When he finished, Faith's eyes were dark but she wore a sly grin. She kissed him until she was able to get him to lay back on the bed. She took another spoonful of ice cream and dropped it on Sam's chest. Sam sucked in a harsh breath, "Shesh, Faith, that's cold."

Faith quirked a brow, and licked some of the ice cream off his chest, "Mmm, yum." She dropped another spoonful on him, using her finger she drew designs on his chest in the ice cream, before licking him clean, again.

Sam let out a breathy, "Faith." She sat up straight to give him her full attention, though that only made her grind against him. "You're driving me crazy," he added in a voice just above a whisper.

"Good. I wanna get all crazy and sticky. Then, you an me are gonna check out that tub," Faith grinned at him.

* * *

  
After dinner, Buffy took Dean by the hand and led him into the living room. Spinning to face him, and wrapping her arms around his neck, she asked, "Dance with me?"

Dean answered by placing his hands on her hips and pulling her close. As they moved in a small circle, Dean thought the night was going just as he hoped. Buffy seemed relaxed and happy as she rest her head on his chest. He wasn't going to dwell on tomorrow night's possible outcome. Tonight's possibilities were far more enjoyable.

The song changed, but they kept their movements the same, until they recognized Elvis's voice singing, " _Wise men say, Only fools rush in, But I can't help, Falling in love with you_ …"

For Buffy, time momentarily froze. Lifting her head off Dean's chest she looked him in the eye. "Why couldn't we have fallen in love at any other time?" Her breath stuttered for a second. "Why now? Why when there's a chance you -" Dean cut her off with a kiss.

When he felt Buffy relax in his embrace, he broke the kiss with a smile. "You would never have put up with me before. I was never honest about my life. Well, the one time I was, the girl ripped out my heart, so I wasn't about to let that happen again."

"She was obviously an idiot," Buffy said plainly.

Dean laughed. "I don't know. Even after she learned the truth about what's really out there, she didn't want me. So," he shrugged, "if we had met some other time, I'm sure I would have found a way to screw it up."

Now, Buffy kissed him gently, "No, I wouldn't have let you." She looked away. "I have always sucked at relationships. Always the wrong guy, or the wrong time. And then there's the whole slayer thing, that's kinda hard to explain." She looked at him, "But we've got that part down."

Dean chuckled softly. "Well, I'm glad you sucked at your past relationships, otherwise I wouldn't be here with you right now." Buffy began to smile. Dean pulled her closer to him, "Why don't we try this for twenty-four hours? If it works, we keep at it?"

Buffy opened her mouth to respond, but Dean silenced her with a kiss. By the end of the song, Buffy was certain that if Dean pulled his hands away, she'd melt into the floor. Dean moved his kisses to her neck making her murmur a pleased little sigh. "Buffy," Dean whispered as he kissed her, "I'm going to spend the rest of the night making love to every inch of you."

Buffy's head swam with that suggestion, her response was a slight nod as her breathing quickened and her fingers moved to the buttons of Dean's shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everytime I try to write Andrew, I get Kurt from Glee, so if you don't like my Andrew, I'm sorry, blame Glee. This chapter has some dialogue from SPN ep. No Rest for the Wicked and three lines from Seinfeld.


	10. Chapter 10

a/n: Cannon character death ahead. And shmoop, lots of shmoop - may cause a toothache.

 

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Buffy's head dropped softly against the table. Her neck arched and her eyes opened lazily to watch Dean as he moaned and his actions stilled. When their eyes met, Dean smirked, "Told ya the table'd hold up." Gently, he scooped her up, moving her with him as he sat back on the kitchen chair with her straddling his lap.

Buffy tried to laugh, but hardly had any energy to spare. She rested her forehead against his shoulder. "Don't think this table will ever hold another dinner party without me thinking about this."

Dean threaded his fingers through her hair to pull her head back, allowing him to kiss her, "That's kinda the point." As he deepened the kiss, Buffy rested her hands on his chest. Dean's hands left her hair and tenderly caressed her back, coming to rest on her hips. Buffy shifted in Dean's lap moving closer to him, causing him to moan. "Buffy, as much as I want to," he began as he broke the kiss. "I'm gonna need a minute, or five."

Buffy tilted her head to study him a moment, then she began to kiss his jaw and neck. Dean bent his head to the side to give her better access and he moaned softly again. Buffy pulled away, looking him in the eye, and smiled playfully. "Dean, as much as I want to, I'm gonna need more than a minute or five." She laughed as rested her head against his shoulder again.

Gingerly, she climbed off his lap. She took him by the hand and led him to her room. "Well, Dean, has the night been 'memorable' for you?"

"It's been, better than I could've hoped for," he answered with a soft smile. "But, the night was supposed to be about you," he added wrapping her in his arms.

Buffy leaned back to look him in his eyes and smiled. "Oh, it was memorable. At least five times memorable." She went on her tip toes and kissed him.

"Five times," Dean said biting his lip with a smile. "You wanna go for seven?" He moved closer to her, maneuvering her to the bed. Before Buffy could say anything, Dean numbed her brain with his kisses.

After a few minutes, Buffy whimpered softly. "If I didn't need at least some energy to face Lilith tomorrow, we'd definitely be going for seven." Dean pulled back, the mention of Lilith a cold shower he hadn't needed. Seeing his reaction, Buffy stroked his cheek. "I think seven should be our goal for the next time." Dean nodded and began to move away, again. Buffy held tightly to his arm, "I'm just going to have to settle for six tonight."

Seeing her playful smile, Dean came back to the moment and began to kiss her. "I don't think you should have to settle," he kissed her, "for anything, so," he kissed her again, "if seven just happens to, uh, happen," he kissed her more, "you shouldn't fight it."

 

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Sam felt a twinge of regret handing Faith the thick terry robe as she climbed from the tub. He thought it wrong that she should cover up, he never seemed to get enough of her. "You're incredible, you know that?"

Faith looked at him with a raised brow and shook her head. Then, she hoisted herself onto the counter next to the sink. "Sam, about what you said before," Sam looked at her with a wrinkled brow. "About you and me and making this," she pointed between them, "work? Uh, I'm not so good at that." She looked at her hands for a moment. Then she looked into his worried eyes, "I wanna try, though. I just usually screw things up."

Sam smiled affectionately as he took her hands in his and stood between her legs. He tilted his head to capture her lips with his. "Faith," he kissed her again, "you are so worth fighting for." After another searing kiss, "Believe me, we'd be worth fighting for. I don't give up easily."

Faith closed her eyes and took a fortifying breath. "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, of course," Sam huffed, nearly a laugh.

Faith tried to read him for a moment then she nodded. "Tomorrow, if we lose Dean, you can't make a deal." Sam tensed, then began pull back, but Faith held him close. "You have to trust us. Can you do that? Trust me and Buffy and the rest of us to save him?"

"What are you saying, Faith?" Sam took a breath, but his voice cracked anyway. "Did you have another dream? Do you know," he closed his eyes and swallowed. "Is Lilith going to win? Is Dean going to hell?"

Faith kept hold of Sam's hands as she hopped off the counter and walked toward the bed. "No, no dreams. It's just, Dean's worried you'll do something stupid." Sam began to grumble. "Hey, it's not that unlikely, right? Look what he did." Sam pursed his lips. "Those of us that don't have a lot to lose, hold on real tight to what we've got." Faith took a deep breath then crawled onto the bed, "So, I promised him that I wouldn't let you. Sam, after everything thing I've done, I know how important trust is. So if you trust me, I don't want to do anything to lose it, believe me."

 

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The brothers exchanged quick looks as they approached the deserted neighborhood park where they were to meet Ruby. Sam quickly sent a text to Faith to alert her to their exact location, praying it wouldn't be the last thing he ever said to her. Dean's eyes grew cold as the Impala's headlights fell on Ruby. "You ready, Sammy?"

Sam cracked his neck, "Yeah, let's go kill some demons and save your sorry ass." Dean tried not to chuckle at his brother's response.

"'Bout time you two showed up," Ruby said barely hiding her disdain for the brothers. "Any later and Dean'd be puppy chow."

Dean pulled the scythe from the trunk wishing it was the real one so he could express his true feelings to Ruby. "Took a while to make sure we weren't followed."

Dean could have said anything, Ruby only had eyes for the scythe. "You got it, you really got it."

"Yeah, thanks for forcing us to burn that bridge," Dean scowled.

Ruby rolled her eyes, "We use that to ice Lilith and the slayer sluts will be eager to show their thanks." Both brothers bristled at the comment, but knew there was a bigger picture to remember. Ruby tossed Sam some hex bags. "Here, these should keep you hidden from Lilith and her crew."

"Thanks, Ruby," Sam said as he stuffed the hex bags in his pockets. Ruby turned to walk toward the house, when Sam called, "Wait."

She turned to see a nonverbal fight occurring between the brothers. She smirked at Dean's set jaw and Sam's pleading puppy eyes. Obvious to her who'd win.

"We were talking and you should take the scythe," Sam said calmly ignoring his brother's angry glare.

Ruby's brow raised in surprise, "Really, why's that?"

"Cuz Sam's an idiot," Dean ground out.

"Because the scythe can kill Lilith and you're the only one of us strong enough to get close enough to use it," Sam insisted as Ruby thought that over. "Let one of us have your knife, we can back you up. But we'd be no match against Lilith."

Ruby smirked and nodded. "At least one of you has the brains to match the looks."

Sam aggressively snatched the scythe from Dean's hands and gave it to Ruby who turned over her knife without as much as a second glance.

As the Winchesters followed Ruby toward the house, Sam stabbed the hex bags Ruby had given him with the knife then dropped the bags in the storm sewer. Dean eyed Ruby's back wishing he could make it the new sheath for the knife.

 

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The woman did her best to control her tears, but her broken heart and her fear were near to overwhelming. The little girl next to her beamed a bright smile at her, "Mommy, read the story again."

The woman looked at her husband who was dragging her father's dead body from the room. "You sure you want to hear it again, sweetie? I've already read it eight times. How about a different story?"

"No! I want this one!" the child hit the book and pouted. The mother began to read.

 

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Faith kept watch as Buffy took the scythe from the back of the jeep. They surely didn't need any demons to spot them early. Buffy gently dragged her hand along the Impala as they made their way towards the neighborhood housing Lilith.

Xander, Keisha and three slayers left Willow and Giles with a group of four slayers at one end of the neighbor hood and drove toward the water distribution utility. Once they turned all the water going into the neighborhood into holy water, they signaled the others.

It felt like it was taking far too long and Dean's nerves were ratcheted up as far as they could go. He hoped Ruby could get them into the house before the sprinklers kicked on and ruined the tiny bit of surprise they had in their favor.

Silently, they crept onto the back porch of the large suburban home. Ruby looked around, "Dean, salt the doors and windows after we get in." He nodded though he was surprised at her suggestion. Dean did as he was told and as quietly as they could, the three entered the house. Walking into the kitchen, the came face to face with the father.

Sam rushed him, but Ruby's harsh whisper, "He's not a demon," stopped both men.

"Where's the girl?" Dean asked.

"My daughter?" the father looked at each of them. "She's not my daughter anymore. I don't know what that thing is." The man's eyes showed his grief and his anger.

"Where is she? We'll take care of her," Sam pleaded.

"Upstairs, with my wife. First door on the left, but my wife -," the man paused, not knowing if he could trust these new invaders of his home.

Dean took the man by the arm. "This is gonna get worse before it gets better." Finding the door to the basement, Dean nearly shoved the man down the steps. "Stay down there, no matter what you hear, do not open this door 'til we tell you to." Dean recognized the man's expression, "I'll get your wife, she'll be safe, I promise."

"Come on!" Ruby commanded shoving Sam toward the stairs, "we've got to get to her before she knows we're here."

The boys heard the sudden sound of the sprinkler system and shared quick grin before Sam followed Ruby up the stairs and Dean spread the salt.

Once the sprinklers started, the slayers had an easy time dispatching any demons daring to prevent them from attacking Lilith. Soon, they were able to surround the house. Once that was accomplished, Faith and Buffy attempted to make their way inside only to find the house magically sealed.

Ruby put her finger to her lips before opening the bedroom door. Sam nodded, prepared to rush the room. Ruby gripped the scythe tightly and turned the knob.

"What the?" Faith grumbled. Door after door, window after window impenetrable. "Damn it, it's on paranormal lock down somehow!"

Buffy turned and marched through the fighting. Any demon that threaten to slow her down, she knocked out with her scythe. Finally, she found her goal, Willow, chanting with Giles. Buffy knew if she stopped the chant, the hex bags may lose some power, but more importantly, the trap they put on the house themselves may weaken. She looked at her slayers, with the Holy Water backing them up, they seemed to be handling the demons efficiently. Her decision made, she called to her best friend, "Willow, I need you. Lilith has the house sealed. We can't get in."

Willow looked at Giles, he nodded and kept chanting. Willow got up and joined Buffy. Together they made their way to the house.

 

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The door flung open momentarily distracting the mother and child inside. The child's eyes widened then she snarled, "Ruby."

Ruby narrowed her eyes and grimaced, "Lilith." Sam angled into the room.

Lilith's eyes whitened, "Oh, you brought an offering? Hoping to make peace?"

"Not quite, bitch," Dean growled as he followed his brother and the demon into the room..

The child held out her hand knocking everyone to the ground. She threw her head back and a cloud of black smoke escaped from the girl. The child fell dead against her sobbing mother.

While Dean took the mother to the basement, to join her husband, Sam spoke to Ruby in the hall. "Alright, where'd Lilith go?"

Ruby shook her head, "I don't know. She could be anywhere. It's too late to stop her now."

"No, I don't believe you. Tell me what I have to do to save Dean," Sam pleaded. He knew something was wrong. Faith and Buffy should have been inside by now.

Ruby shook her head, "There's no time Sam."

"I'll do anything. Just tell me," Sam pleaded just as Dean arrived in the hall.

"No," Dean grabbed Sam's arm. "This is my fault. If I'm going to hell, you've got to let me. She can't save me, she can only damn you, too."

Ruby turned to Dean, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."

"Then, what am I supposed to do?" Sam's voice cracked with emotion as he looked Dean.

Dean looked at his brother and wrestled back his feelings, "Look after my girl, be good to Faith," Sam swallowed, his eyes tearing. "Take care of my wheels," he offered with a weak smile.

Before Sam could argue, the house began to tremble as if an earthquake struck nearby. Ruby looked around, "Something's wrong"

"Is it Lilith?" Sam asked.

Ruby looked around wide eyed for a moment, "Yeah, and she's brought the dogs." She shoved Dean and Sam into the closest room and slammed the door shut. Dean pulled goofer dust from his jacket and poured it along the door, then, along the window.

 

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The near earthquake shook slayers and demons alike and the fighting stopped for a moment. Faith looked at Willow in shock, "Whoa, Red, that was intense."

Willow looked at Buffy and Faith, "That wasn't just me. Lilith must have done something, too. Be careful."

"We will," Buffy nodded then strode to the front door and kicked it in.

Once inside the den, Ruby glared at the door, then at the scythe in her hand. Holding her hand out, she said, "Sam, give me the knife."

Dean and Sam exchanged confused looks. Dean squinted at Ruby and realized what had happened, "Shit, she's Lilith."

Lilith smirked then flung Dean into the desk and pinned Sam to the wall. "Hi, Sam. I've been wanting to meet you for a very long time." She walked over to him.

"Where's Ruby?" Sam demanded.

"She wasn't playing nice, so I sent her away. I like this new body. It's all grown up and pretty." She stood directly in front of Sam, grabbed his face and kissed him.

"Get your whore lips off my boyfriend," Faith spat out as she and Buffy stormed into the room.

Lilith faced them, held out her hand, and flung them across the room. Buffy didn't release the scythe and slowly she struggled to push herself off the wall.

However, Lilith's attention was drawn to a howling sound from outside. "Hee hee," she giggled, "my puppies are here." She went to open the window, however, her smile soon turned to a confused frown when she heard yelping.

"Hee," Buffy smirked, "my slayers are here." Buffy was free of the wall. She raised the scythe but Lilith raised her hand and a bright light began to glow.

"No!" Dean shouted loudly enough to prevent Lilith from completely focusing her 'ray' at Buffy.

Nevertheless, Buffy was still flung across the room. Each time Lilith focused on one of them, her hold on one of the others began to weaken. Faith pushed herself forward, trying to get to the knife. But Lilith saw her and sent her flying backwards. Sam gasped as he watched Faith strike the wall with enough force to crack the dry wall and knock her unconscious.

 

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Lilith slammed the door, then took a second to look around the room at her enemies, finally settling on Dean. "You." Dean's eyes widened, showing the slightest amount of fear. With her arms fully extended from her sides, Lilith raised both Sam and Buffy off the ground before turning to face Dean. "Dean, make a choice. Is it going to be Sam or the slayer? Who lives? And who takes your place in hell?" Lilith twisted her fists and the air was slowly squeezed from Sam's and Buffy's lungs, forcing them to gasp.

"No, no!" Dean hollered from where he was pinned to the desk. "The deal was with me, take me!"

Lilith stamped her foot and pouted. "You came here thinking you could get out of your deal, didn't you, Dean?" she insinuated narrowing her eyes at him. "This is your way out." She looked from Sam to Buffy, lifting them higher off the ground as she choked them. "Choose!"

"No!" Dean shouted again.

"Oh, I don't like you! You don't play right at all! So, I'll have to take you, too." Lilith was able to keep Sam and Buffy pinned to the wall, but, she allowed them to drop. Lilith held her hand out to Dean, dragging him from the desk to the ground. Slowly, she closed her hand into a fist. As she did, the breath was squeezed out of Dean's lungs. He gasped, eyes wide. As Lilith's fist tightened until knuckles whitened, Dean's heart stopped.

Buffy's mouth fell open, her heart broke, she let the scythe slip from her grasp as she watched Dean die. The clang of its blade against the floor, drew Lilith's attention. She smirked at Buffy, once again pinned to the wall, as she strolled over to pick up the scythe.

"You always try to rain on my parade, ruin my fun," Lilith taunted. "Not this time."

Buffy looked from Dean to Sam, an apology in her eyes. Sam freed himself from the wall, drew his gun and fired at Lilith.

Forgetting about the scythe, Lilith tilted her head in confusion. This was new. No one had ever shot her before. "Owie! Sam! That hurt," she whined. Turning to face him, she easily tore the gun from his grasp. Lilith looked at the hole the bullet made as it passed through her. "Now, just look what you've done! You stupid boy! You messed up my pretty new body!" She scowled at Sam.

 

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Ruby realized the house must have some sort of charm on it since Lilith was unable to banish her. Though she hated being in a rotting grandmother, it beat being in hell. However, her problems were just beginning. She realized, now, the Winchesters had brought the slayers with them. But, for her plan to work, only Sam could be allowed to live. Somehow, she needed Sam to believe that the slayers were responsible for Dean's death, and she was the only one he could trust.

 

Xander, Keisha, and Willow rushed inside and found Faith, just as she was able to get up. Still blinking away the cobwebs, she turned to Xander, "Bring in as many slayers as you can spare. Lilith can't focus her power against so many of us."

Xander nodded at the order and squeezed Keisha's hand before he left. "Take me with you," Ruby, wearing the grandmother, croaked.

Xander raised his brow, "You better stay here, it's safer." Before she could stop him, he was out the door.

 

Keisha and Faith kicked in the door, again, drawing Lilith attention away from Sam. "Didn't I get rid of you before?" Lilith asked perturbed, sending Faith and Keisha flying backwards.

However, Lilith hadn't been counting on Willow. As the two slayers flew backwards, Willow stopped them, righted them and set them down. Lilith's eyes blazed, "Witch!"

Betraying no emotion, Willow answered by creating a whirlwind to distract Lilith. Keisha and Faith closed in again, this time joined by two other younger slayers. "Just keep attacking," Faith ordered, "she can't split her focus for long."

 

Inside the grandmother, Ruby fumed. This was so not going according to plan. Peering through the window, she hoped to find a demon willing to help, however, instead, she found two men performing exorcisms on demons the other slayers had captured. Realizing that the demon cavalry was no longer an option, she decided to take on the witch.

 

Inside the den, Lilith was now facing five slayers, and though she may be the strongest of demons, she struggled to defend herself. The combination of Willow's magic, her hex bags, and slayer strength was beginning to wear Lilith down. She let her hold on Sam fail. Sam picked up Ruby's knife and attempted to attack her from behind.

Seeing this from behind Willow, Ruby sent Sam tumbling back into the wall. She couldn't have Lilith dead, not yet. She needed more time to make Sam believe she was the only one able to help.

Willow spun to face Ruby. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm grandma," Ruby bowed her head and attempted to sound saintly.

Willow stretched out her hand, "Demon, show thy self." Grandma's eyes went black. Willow sighed as is she were annoyed, "Ruby."

Ruby put her hands on her hips, "Fine," she huffed. "But I'm not the bad guy here. I've been trying to help the Winchesters." Willow looked skeptical causing Ruby to roll her eyes. "Oh, right, you guys get to work with Angelus, William the bloody, and all sorts of demons. You should be the last to judge me, witch."

A slow smile crept over Willow's face. "I don't judge." She turned to the den. "If you're here to help, help." Using her magic, Willow shoved Ruby into the room with Lilith and the slayers.

Keisha tossed Faith Ruby's knife and picked up the fake scythe as Ruby stumbled into the den. "Ruby!" Lilith hissed. "You did this! You brought the slayers here!" her eyes began to glow and a bright white light was forming in her hand. Buffy met Faith's eyes, then Keisha's. They nodded to one another and Buffy kicked the scythe up into her hands.

 

Ruby tried to back away but Lilith quickly closed the distance. With a quick glance to each other, Faith and Buffy simultaneously attacked. Faith drove home Ruby's knife into Ruby's back, pushing her towards Lilith, as Buffy buried the scythe in Lilith. There was a flash as bright as lightening, then the demons fell dead.

 

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Sam made his way over to his brother's body. His heart felt like it had been ripped from his body. "I'm sorry, Dean," he whispered as he rocked back and forth. "I'm so sorry."

Buffy joined him at Dean's side. She caressed Dean's face. "Dean?" she asked knowing she wouldn't get an answer.

"Buffy, it's too late. He's gone," Sam allowed his tears to fall freely.

Buffy looked up from Dean, "No, Lilith broke the contract, she couldn't take his soul remember?" She put her head on Dean's chest.

Buffy looked up into Sam's eyes, hoping to get him to focus. "CPR. You do the chest compressions, I'd break a rib." Sam nodded, following Buffy's orders, counting as she breathed into his brother.

Sam knew CPR wasn't going to work. Dean had been 'gone' for too long, but he couldn't bring himself to stop Buffy.

 

Willow turned to Faith, "Ready?" she whispered. Faith nodded and took the scythe Dean had made from Keisha. Willow held Keisha's hand and that of Ashley, another slayer. The three women began to chant softly, so softly that Sam couldn't hear them over his counting.

In her hands, the scythe began to vibrate. Looking to Willow for a sign, Faith waited until Willow nodded to her, then she broke the scythe's handle. When she heard the loud crack of the handle, Buffy took a deep breath and breathed into Dean.

And Dean began to cough, and gasp for air as he blinked open his eyes.

Dumbfounded, Sam continued to push at Dean's chest, until Dean croaked, "Dude, get off me."

Sam fell backward in shock. "Dean?"

Dean looked up at Buffy, "You, get back here." He put a hand to the back of her head and pulled her down for a kiss. After a moment, he remembered where he was and what was happening. "Damn, did I miss all the fun?" he asked as he sat up and surveyed the room.

"No, there's plenty more fun to be had," Buffy said quietly into his ear as she wrapped her arms around him. "But it's a private kind of fun. Just you and me kind of fun."

Dean regarded her with a smirk, "I like how you think."

"Yeah, you like a lot of stuff about me," Buffy replied still holding him tightly.

Sam stood, held out his hand to help his brother up. "You okay, man?" Sam asked with a shaking voice.

"Yeah, I think. What happened?" Dean asked rubbing his head as he looked around, but still holding on to Buffy.

Faith rushed over, put an arm around Sam and squeezed. "Lilith knocked you out but good. Maybe we should take you to a doctor."

Dean shook his head, "Nah, I feel fine." He looked down at the bodies of the two women, then nudged them with his toe. "Lilith and Ruby? Both dead?"

Sam nodded with a smile, "Yeah, you should have seen it. It was-"

"Awesome," Dean finished for him.

 

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As the group left the house, Giles considered the woman who had once been his slayer. "Well, it looks like everything went according to plan."

Buffy nodded, not relinquishing her hold on Dean. "Yeah. Bad guys, dead. Good guys, alive." She looked up at Dean. "All is right with the world."

Sam and Dean looked around the cul de sac. The mass exorcism seemed to have worked quite well. Giles studied the man whose arm was protectively around Buffy, as if she need shielding from any of this. "Sam, Dean," Giles had their immediate attention, "it was a pleasure to work with you."

Xander grinned, "Yeah, love it when a plan comes together." Keisha smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around him.

Dean still seemed a bit confused, but shook their hands, "Yeah, thanks. I mean, thanks for your help. I'd be a chew toy if it wasn't for you guys."

Faith punched him lightly on the arm. "Like we'd let that happen."

On the way back to their vehicles, it became obvious that the couples would be driving separately. When Faith handed Sam her keys, he kept hold of her. "So, you ready for the hard part, now?"

Faith looked confused. "What are you talking about? Wasn't that the hard part?"

Sam smiled, then pinned Faith to her jeep. "I'm talking about the part where we make this work." Sam kissed her with enough enthusiasm to convince her of anything.

 

Dean grinned as he watched his younger brother. "And to think he was once afraid of you guys," he shook his head. Dean was opening the car door for Buffy, when she grabbed him and held him tightly. She rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat, letting relief wash over her. Buffy couldn't help but smile as she heard his heart begin to beat faster as she held him. Dean stroked her hair, "You alright, babe?"

"Definitely," Buffy sighed, happily. Dean kissed the top of her head. "Just really happy to be holding you right now." She looked up into his eyes, "I am so in love with you." She stretched up to kiss him.

Dean couldn't believe how happy he felt hearing her say those words to him. Maybe Rufus Turner was wrong, maybe he could find happiness.

After finally getting in the Impala, Dean asked, "Ready to go, sweetheart?"

Buffy's eyes were practically glowing as she answered, "Check your visor."

Dean quirked a brow, but unfolded the visor to have papers fall onto his lap. "What's this?" he asked looking at Buffy.

Buffy said nothing, just smiled at him as he looked at the brochure. "Graceland's Chapel in the Woods," Dean read. He turned the paper over in his hand. Then his expression became one of wonder when he looked at her. "Are you serious?

"Were you?" Buffy asked, hoping she sounded confident though her heart was pounding.

Dean's smile brightened the entire car. He turned the key, gunned the engine, and peeled away, sending gravel spraying.

He pulled his phone from his pocket. "Sammy, think you can keep up in that thing?" Dean listened for a second, "Good. Buffy and I are going to Graceland. If you can keep up, follow us." He glanced over at a smiling Buffy, "I'd like for you to be there when I let Buffy make an honest man outta me."

The End


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